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Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2012  with  funding  from 

University  of  North  Carolina  at  Chapel  Hill 


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IN    THE    VALLEY    BELOW   THE   WANDERERS 

THERE   WAS   A  CITY. 

Lost  on  the  Moon  Paee  213 


LOST  ON  THE  MOON 

Or 

In  Quest  of  the  Field  of  Diamonds 


BY 

ROY  ROCKWOOD 

AUTHOR    OF    "THROUGH   THE  AIR   TO   THE    NORTH    POLE,"    "  UNDER 

THE   OCEAN  TO   THE  SOUTH   POLE,"    "  FIVE  THOUSAND   MILES 

UNDERGROUND,"    " THROUGH   SPACE  TO   MARS,"  ETC. 


ILLUSTRATED 


NEW  YORK 

CUPPLES  &  LEON  COMPANY 


BOOKS  BY  ROY  ROCKWOOD 
THE     GREAT    MARVEL    SERIES 

i2mo.     Cloth.     Illustrated 


THROUGH  THE  AIR  TO  THE  NORTH  POLE 
Or  The  Wonderful  Cruise  of  the  Electric  Monarch 

UNDER  THE  OCEAN  TO  THE  SOUTH  POLE 
Or  The  Strange  Cruise  of  the  Submarine  Wonder 

FIVE  THOUSAND  MILES  UNDERGROUND 
Or  The  Mystery  of  the  Centre  of  the  Earth 

THROUGH  SPACE  TO  MARS 

Or  The  Longest  Journey  on  Record 

LOST  ON  THE  MOON 

Or  In  Quest  of  the  Field  of  Diamonds 


Copyright,  191 1,  by 
Cupples  &  Leon  Company 


Lost  on  the  Moon 


Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.  A  Wonderful  Story .  I 

II.  Something  about  Our  Heroes     ....  10 

III.  Preparing  for  a  Voyage    ...           .     .  21 

IV.  An  Accident 26 

V.  The  Work  of  an  Enemy 33 

VI.  On  the  Track 41 

VII.  Mark  is  Captured 47 

VIII.  Jack  is  Puzzled  .........  58 

IX.  A  Daring  Plot 66 

X.  "How  Strange  Mark  Acts" 77 

XI.  Ready  for  the  Moon 89 

XII.  Mark's  Escape 95 

XIII.  A  Direful  Threat 103 

XIV.  Off  at  Last 113 

XV.  The  Shanghai  Makes  Trouble    .     .     .     .  122 

XVI.  "Will  it  Hit  Us?" 130 

XVII.  Turning  Turtle 137 

XVIII.  At  the  Moon 146 

XIX  Torches  of  Life 156 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XX.  On  the  Edge  of  a  Crater 162 

XXI.  Washington  Sees  a  Ghost 170 

XXII.  A  Breakdown 179 

XXIII.  Lost  on  the  Moon 188 

XXIV.  Desolate  Wanderings 197 

XXV.  The  Petrified  City 204 

XXVI.  Seeking  Food 214 

XXVII.  The  Black  Pool 222 

XXVIII.  The  Signal  Fails 230 

'XXIX.  The  Field  of  Diamonds 233 

XXX.  Back  to  Earth — Conclusion  .     .     »     t     .  239 


LOST  ON  THE  MOON 

CHAPTER  I 

A  WONDERFUL   STORY 

"Well,  what  do  you  think  of  it,  Mark?"  asked 
Jack  Darrow,  as  he  laid  aside  a  portion  of  a  news- 
paper, covered  with  strange  printed  characters. 
"Great;  isn't  it?" 

"You  don't  mean  to  tell  me  that  you  believe  that 
preposterous  story,  do  you,  Jack?"  And  Mark 
Sampson  looked  across  the  table  at  his  companion 
in  some  astonishment. 

"Oh,  I  don't  know;  it  may  be  true,"  went  on 
Jack,  again  picking  up  the  paper  and  gazing 
thoughtfully  at  it.     "I  wish  it  was." 

"But  think  of  it!"  exclaimed  Mark.  "Why,  if 
such  a  thing  exists,  and  if  we,  or  some  one  else, 
should  attempt  to  bring  all  those  precious  stones 
to  this  earth,  it  would  revolutionize  the  diamond 
industry  of  the  world.    It  can't  be  true!" 

s 


2  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

"Well,  here  it  is,  in  plain  print.  You  can  read 
it  for  yourself,  as  you  know  the  Martian  language 
as  well  as  I  do.  It  states  that  a  large  field  of 
'Reonaris'  was  discovered  on  the  moon  near  Mare 
Tranquilitatis  (or  Tranquil  Ocean,  I  suppose  that 
could  be  translated),  and  that  the  men  of  Mars 
brought  back  some  of  the  Reonaris  with  them. 
Here,  read  it,  if  you  don't  believe  me." 

"Oh,  I  believe  you,  all  right—that  is,  I  think 
you  have  translated  that  article  as  well  as  you  can. 
But  suppose  you  have  made  some  error?  We 
didn't  have  much  time  to  study  the  language  of 
Mars  while  we  were  there,  and  we  might  make 
some  mistake  in  the  words.  That  article  might 
be  an  account  of  a  dog-fight  on  the  red  planet,  in- 
stead of  an  account  of  a  trip  to  the  moon  and  the 
discovery  of  a  field  of  Reonaris;  eh,  Jack?" 

"Of  course,  I'm  likely  to  have  made  an  error, 
for  it  isn't  easy  to  translate  this  stuff."  And  Jack 
gazed  intently  at  the  strangely  printed  page,  which 
was  covered  with  characters  not  unlike  Greek.  "I 
may  be  wrong,"  went  on  the  lad,  "but  you  must 
remember  that  I  translated  some  other  articles  in 
this  paper,  and  Professor  Henderson  also  trans- 
lated them  substantially  as  I  did,  and  Professor 
Roumann  agreed  with  him.  There  is  Reonaris 
on  the  moon,  and  I  wish  we  could  go  there  and 
get  some." 


A    WONDERFUL    STORY  3 

"But  maybe  after  you  got  the  Reonaris  it  would 
turn  out  to  be  only  common  crystals,"  objected 
Mark. 

"No!"  exclaimed  Jack.  "Reonaris  is  what  the 
Martians  call  it  in  their  language,  and  that  means 
diamonds.     I'm  sure  of  it!" 

"Well,  I  don't  agree  with  you,"  declared  the 
other  lad. 

"Don't  be  cranky  and  contrary,"  begged  Jack. 

"I'm  not;  but  what's  the  use  of  believing  any- 
thing so  wild  and  weird  as  that?  It's  a  crazy 
yarn!" 

"It's  nothing  of  the  sort!  There  are  diamonds 
on  the  moon ;  and  I  can  prove  it !" 

"Well,  don't  get  excited,"  suggested  Mark 
calmly.  "I  don't  believe  it;  that's  all.  You're 
mistaken  about  what  Reonaris  is;  that's  what  you 
are." 

"I  am  not!"  Jack  had  arisen  from  his  chair, 
and  seemed  much  elated.  In  his  hand  he  held 
clinched  the  paper  which  had  caused  the  lively 
discussion.  It  was  as  near  to  a  disagreement  as 
Jack  Darrow  and  Mark  Sampson  had  come  in 
some  time. 

"Sit  down,"  begged  Mark. 

"I'll  not!"  retorted  Jack.  "I'm  going  to  prove 
to  you  that  I'm  right." 

"How  are  you  going  to  do  it?" 


4  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

"I'm  going  to  get  Professor  Henderson  and 
Professor  Roumann  to  translate  this  article  for 
you,  and  then  you  can  ask  them  what  Reonaris  is. 
Guess  that'll  convince  you;  won't  it?" 

"Maybe;  but  why  don't  you  ask  Andy  Sudds 
or  Washington  White  to  give  their  opinion?" 

"Don't  get  funny,"  advised  the  other  lad 
sharply,  and  then,  seeing  that  his  chum  was  smil- 
ing, Jack  laughed,  cooled  down  a  bit,  looked  at  the 
paper  which  he  had  crumpled  in  his  hand,  and 
said: 

"I  guess  I  was  getting  a  little  too  excited.  But 
I'm  sure  I'm  right.  Here's  the  paper  I  brought 
from  Mars  to  prove  it,  and  the  only  thing  there's 
any  doubt  about  is  whether  or  not  Reonaris  means 
diamonds.     I'll  ask " 

At  that  moment  the  door  of  the  library,  in 
which  Jack  and  Mark  were  seated,  was  cautiously 
opened,  and  a  black,  woolly  head  was  thrust  in. 
Then  two  widely-opened  eyes  gazed  at  the  boys. 

"What's  the  matter,  Washington?"  asked  Jack, 
with  a  laugh. 

"  'Scuse  me,  Massa  Jack,"  answered  the  col- 
ored man,  "but  did  I  done  heah  you'  to  promul- 
gate some  conversationess  regarding  de  transmi- 
gatorability  ob  diamonds?" 

"Do  you  mean,  were  we  talking  about  dia 
monds?"  inquired  Mark. 


A    WONDERFUL    STORY  5 

"Dat's  what  I  done  said,  Massa  Mark." 

"No,  you  didn't  say  it,  but  you  meant  it,  I 
guess,"  went  on  Jack.  "Yes,  we  were  talking 
about  diamonds,  Washington.  I  know  a  place 
that's  full  of  them." 

"Where?"  inquired  the  colored  man,  thrusting 
his  head  farther  into  the  room,  and  opening  his 
eyes  to  their  fullest  extent.  "Ef  it  ain't  violatin' 
no  confidences,  Massa  Jack,  would  yo'  jest  kindly 
mention  it  to  yo's  truly,"  and  Professor  Hender- 
son's faithful  servant,  who  had  followed  him  into 
many  dangers,  looked  at  the  two  boys,  who,  of 
late  years,  had  shared  the  labors  of  the  well- 
known  scientist.  "Where  am  dose  diamonds, 
Massa  Jack?" 

"On  the  moon,"  was  the  answer. 

"On  de  moon?  Ha!  Ha!  Dat's  a  jokel" 
And  Washington  began  to  laugh.  "On  de  moon! 
Ha!   Ho!" 

"Well,  you  can  read  it  for  yourself,"  went  on 
the  lad,  tossing  the  paper  over  to  the  colored  man. 
The  latter  picked  it  up,  gazed  at  it,  first  from  one 
side,  and  then  from  the  other.  Next  he  turned  it 
upside  down,  but,  as  this  did  not  make  the  article 
any  clearer,  he  turned  the  paper  back  again. 
Then  he  remarked,  with  a  puzzled  air: 

"Well,  I  neber  could  read  without  mah  glasses, 
Massa  Jack,  so  I  guess  I'll  hab  t'  let  it  go  until 


6  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

annoder  time.  Diamonds  on  de  moon,  eh?  Dat's 
wonderful!  I  wonder  what  dey'll  be  doin'  next? 
But  I'se  got  t'  go.  Diamonds  on  de  moon,  eh? 
Diamonds  on  de  moon!" 

As  Washington  turned  to  leave  the  room,  for 
he  had  entered  it  when  Jack  and  Mark  were 
talking  to  him,  the  latter  lad  asked: 

"Did  you  want  to  see  us  about  anything  par- 
ticular,, Wash?" 

"Why,  I  suah  did,"  was  the  reply.  "I  did  come 
t'  tell  yo'  dat  Perfesser  Henderson  would  be 
pleased  to  hold  some  conversations  wid  yo',  but 
when  Massa  Jack  done  mentioned  about  dem  dia- 
monds, I  clean  fo'got  it.  Diamonds  on  de  moon, 
eh?" 

"Well,  if  the  professor  wants  us  we'd  better 
go,"  suggested  Mark.  "Come  on,  Jack,  and  stop 
dreaming  about  Reonaris  and  the  moonbeams. 
Get  back  to  earth." 

"All  right;  laugh  if  you  want  to,"  said  Jack 
sturdily,  "but  the  time  will  come,  Mark,  when 
you'll  find  out  that  I'm  right." 

"How?"  asked  Mark. 

"I  don't  know,  but  I'm  sure  I  can  prove  what 
I  say." 

The  two  boys  were  to  have  the  wonderful  dia- 
mond story  demonstrated  to  them  sooner  than 
either  expected. 


A   WONDERFUL   STORY  7 

Following  the  colored  man,  the  lads,  Jack  car- 
rying the  paper,  made  their  way  to  the  laboratory 
of  Professor  Henderson.  His  door  was  open, 
and  the  aged  man,  whose  hair  and  beard  were 
now  white  with  age,  was  bending  over  a  table 
covered  with  papers,  chemical  apparatus,  tes* 
tubes,  alembecs,  Bunsen  burners,  globes,  and  vari- 
ous pieces  of  apparatus.  Another  man,  not  quite 
so  old  as  was  Mr.  Henderson,  was  on  the  point  of 
leaving  the  apartment. 

"Ah,  boys,"  remarked  the  older  professor,  as 
he  caught  sight  of  them,  "I  hope  I  didn't  disturb 
you  by  sending  for  you." 

"No;  Jack  and  I  were  only  having  a  red-hot 
discussion  about  diamonds  on  the  moon,"  said 
Mark,  with  a  laugh. 

"Diamonds  on  the  moon!"  exclaimed  Profes- 
sor Henderson. 

"Diamonds  on  the  moon?"  repeated  his  friend, 
Prof.  Santell  Roumann.     "Is  this  a  joke,  boys?" 

"Mark  thinks  so,  but  I  don't!"  cried  Jack,  en- 
thusiastically. "Look  here,  Professor  Hender- 
son, and  also  Mr.  Roumann.  Here  is  one  of  the 
newspapers  that  we  brought  back  with  us  in  our 
projectile,  the  Annihilator,  after  our  trip  to  Mars. 
I  have  been  translating  some  of  the  articles  in  it, 
and  to-night  I  came  across  one  that  told  of  a  trip 
made  by  some  of  the  inhabitants  of  Mars  to  thfc 


8  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

moon,  in  a  sort  of  projectile,  like  ours,  only  more 
on  the  design  of  an  aeroplane. 

"They  landed  on  the  moon,  the  article  states, 
and  found  a  big  field,  or  deposit,  of  Reonaris, 
which  I  claim  are  diamonds.  Mark  says  I'm 
wrong,  but,  Professor  Henderson,  isn't  Reonaris 
to  the  Martians  what  diamonds  are  to  us?" 

"It  certainly  is,"  agreed  the  older  scientist,  and 
he  looked  for  confirmation  to  his  scholarly  com- 
panion. 

"Reonaris  is  substantially  a  diamond,"  said 
Professor  Roumann.  "It  has  the  same  chemical 
constitution,  and  also  the  diamond's  hardness  and 
brilliancy.  But  I  don't  understand  how  any  dia- 
monds can  be  on  the  moon." 

"You  can  read  this  for  yourself,"  suggested 
Jack,  passing  over  the  paper,  which  was  one  of 
some  souvenirs  brought  back  from  what  was  the 
longest  journey  on  record,  ever  taken  by  human 
beings. 

Mr.  Roumann  adjusted  his  glasses,  and  care- 
fully read  the  article  that  was  printed  in  such 
strange  characters.  As  he  perused  it,  he  nodded 
his  head  thoughtfully  from  time  to  time.  Then 
he  passed  the  paper  to  Professor  Henderson. 

The  older  scientist  was  somewhat  longer  in  go- 
ing over  the  article,  but  when  he  had  finished,  he 
looked  at  the  two  boys,  and  said: 


A   WONDERFUL   STORY  9 

"Jack  is  right!  This  is  an  account  of  a  trip 
made  to  the  moon  by  some  of  the  Martians,  who 
have  advanced  much  further  in  the  art  of  air 
navigation  than  have  we.  Some  of  the  words  I 
am  not  altogether  familiar  with,  but  in  the  main, 
that  is  what  the  paper  states." 

"And  doesn't  it  tell  about  them  finding  a  field 
of  ReonarJs?"  asked  Jack  eagerly,  for  he  was 
anxious  to  prove  to  his  chum  that  he  was  right. 

"Yes,  it  does,"  replied  Mr.  Henderson,, 

"And  Reonaris  is  diamonds,  isn't  it?"  asked 
Jack. 

"It  is,"  answered  Professor  Roumann  gravely. 

"Then,"  cried  Jack,  "what's  to  hinder  us  from 
going  to  the  moon,  and  getting  some  of  those  dia- 
monds? The  Martians  must  have  left  some! 
Let's  go  to  the  moon  and  get  them !  We  can  do 
it  in  the  projectile  with  which  we  made  the  journey 
to  Mars.     Let's  start  for  the  moon!" 

For  a  moment  there  was  silence  in  the  labora- 
tory of  the  scientist.  It  was  broken  by  Washing- 
ton White,  who  remarked: 

"Good  land  a'  massy!  Annodder  ob  dem  trips 
through  de  air!  Well,  I  ain't  goin'  to  no  moon — 
no  sah ! !  Ef  I  went  dere,  I'd  suah  get  looney, 
an'  I  has  troubles  enough  now  wid'out  dat,  I  suah 
has!"  And,  shaking  his  head  dubiouslys  the  col- 
ored man  shuffled  from  the  room. 


CHAPTER  II 

SOMETHING  ABOUT  OUR  HEROES 

"Are  you  in  earnest  in  proposing  this  trip?" 
asked  Professor  Henderson  of  Jack.  The  lad, 
with  flushed  face  and  bright  eyes,  stood  in  the 
centre  of  the  apartment,  holding  the  paper  which 
the  aged  scientist  had  returned  to  him. 

"I  certainly  am,"  was  the  reply.  "It  ought  not 
to  be  a  difficult  undertaking,  after  our  trip  to  the 
North  Pole  through  the  air,  the  one  to  the  South 
Pole  under  water,  our  journey  to  the  centre  of 
the  earth,  and  our  flight  to  Mars.  Why,  a  trip  to 
the  moon  ought  to  be  a  little  pleasure  jaunt,  like 
an  automobile  tour.     Can't  we  go,  Professor?" 

"From  the  standpoint  of  possibility,  I  presume 
we  could  make  a  trip  to  the  moon,"  the  scientist 
admitted.  "It  would  not  take  so  long,  nor  would 
it  be  as  dangerous,  as  was  our  trip  to  Mars.  And 
yet,  I  don't  know  that  I  care  to  go.  I  am  getting 
along  in  years,  and  I  have  money  enough  to  live 
on.  Even  a  field  of  diamonds  hardly  sounds 
attractive  to  me." 

ie 


SOMETHING  ABOUT  OUR  HEROES  n 

Jack's  face  showed  the  disappointment  he  felt. 

"And  yet,"  went  on  the  aged  scientist  with  a 
smile,  "there  are  certain  attractions  about  another 
trip  through  space.  I  had  hoped  to  settle  down  in 
life  now,  and  devote  my  time  to  scientific  study 
and  the  writing  of  books.  But  this  is  something 
new.    We  never  have  been  to  the  moon,  and " 

"There  are  lots  of  problems  about  it  that  are 
still  unsolved!"  cried  Jack  eagerly.  "You  will  be 
able  to  discover  if  the  moon  has  an  atmosphere 
and  moisture ;  and  also  what  the  other  side — the 
one  that  is  always  turned  away  from  us — looks 
like." 

"It  does  sound  tempting,"  went  on  the  aged 
scientist  slowly.  "And  we  could  do  it  in  our  pro- 
jectile, the  Annihilator.  It  is  in  good  working 
order;  isn't  it,  Professor  Roumann?" 

"Couldn't  be  better.  If  you  ask  me,  I,  for  one, 
would  like  to  make  a  trip  to  the  moon.  It  would 
give  me  a  better  chance  to  test  the  powers  of  Car- 
dite,  that  wonderful  red  substance  we  brought 
from  Mars.  I  can  use  that  in  the  Etherium 
motor.  If  you  left  it  to  me,  I'd  say,  'go  to  the 
moon.'  " 

"Well,  perhaps  we  will,"  spoke  Mr.  Hender- 
son thoughtfully. 

"You'll  go,  too,  won't  you,  Mark?"  asked  Jack. 

"Oh,  I'm  not  going  to  be  left  behind.     I'll  go 


12  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

if  the  rest  do,  but  I  don't  believe  you'll  find  any 
diamonds  on  the  moon.  If  there  ever  were  any, 
the  Martians  took  them,"  for  Mark  had  been 
partly  convinced  after  the  confirmation  by  the  two 
professors  of  Jack's  translation. 

"I'll  take  a  chance  on  the  sparklers,"  said  his 
chum.  "But  now,  let's  go  into  details,  and  figure 
out  when  we  can  start.  It  ought  not  to  take  very 
long  to  get  ready." 

As  has  been  explained  in  detail  in  the  former 
books  of  this  series,  Professor  Henderson  and 
the  two  lads,  Mark  Sampson  and  Jack  Darrow, 
had  undertaken  many  strange  voyages  together. 
Sometimes  they  were  accompanied  by  friends  and 
assistants,  while  Washington  White,  a  sort  of 
servant,  helper  and  man-of-all-work,  and  Andy 
Sudds,  a  veteran  hunter,  always  went  with  them. 

Mark  and  Jack  were  orphans,  and  had  been 
adopted  by  Professor  Henderson,  who  spent  all 
his  time  in  making  wonderful  machines  for  trans- 
portation, or  in  conducting  strange  experiments. 

In  the  first  book  of  the  series,  entitled 
"Through  the  Air  to  the  North  Pole,"  there  was 
given  an  account  of  how  the  professor  and  Wash- 
ington White  rescued  the  boys  from  a  train  wreck, 
took  them  to  the  workshop  of  the  scientist,  and 
cared  for  them. 

They  aided  the  professor,  as  soon  as  they  were 


SOMETHING   ABOUT   OUR   HEROES     13 

able,  in  constructing  an  airship,  called  the  Electric 
Monarch,  in  which  Mr.  Henderson  hoped  to  be 
able  to  reach  the  N  orth  Pole.  How  the  boys  en- 
joyed the  trip  through  the  air,  how  they  fought 
the  savage  Esquimaux,  and  how,  finally,  they  suc- 
ceeded in  passing  over  the  exact  spot  of  the  North 
Pole  during  a  violent  snow-storm,  is  all  told  in  the 
first  book. 

Not  satisfied  to  rest  from  their  labors  after 
conquering  the  North,  the  adventurers  set  out  for 
the  South  Pole,  and  their  adventures  seeking  it, 
are  related  in  the  second  volume,  called  "Under 
the  Ocean  to  the  South  Pole."  On  this  trip  they 
went  beneath  the  surface  of  the  seas  in  a  subma- 
rine boat,  and  many  were  the  perils  through  which 
they  passed. 

It  was  on  their  voyage  to  the  south,  that,  com- 
ing to  the  surface  one  day,  the  adventurers  saw  a 
strange  island  in  the  Atlantic  ocean,  far  from  the 
coast  of  South  America.  On  it  was  a  great  whirl- 
pool, into  which  the  Porpoise,  the  submarine  boat, 
was  nearly  drawn  by  suction. 

The  chasm  might  lead  to  the  centre  of  the 
earth,  it  was  suggested,  and,  after  thinking  the 
matter  over,  on  their  return  from  the  South  Pole, 
Professor  Henderson  decided  to  build  a  craft  in 
which  they  might  solve  the  mystery. 

The  details  of  the  voyage  they  took  in  the 


14  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

Flying  Mermaid,  are  told  of  in  the  third  volume, 
entitled  "Five  Thousand  Miles  Underground." 
The  Mermaid  could  sail  on  the  water,  or  float  in 
the  air  like  a  balloon.  In  this  craft  the  travellers 
descended  into  the  centre  of  the  earth,  and  had 
many  wonderful  adventures.  They  nearly  lost 
their  lives,  and  had  to  escape,  after  running 
through  danger  of  the  spouting  water,  leaving 
their  craft  behind. 

For  some  time  they  undertook  no  further  voy- 
ages, and  the  two  boys,  who  lived  with  Professor 
Henderson  in  a  small  town  on  the  coast  of  Maine, 
were  sent  to  attend  the  Universal  Electrical  and 
Chemical  College.  Washington  remained  at 
home  to  minister  to  the  wants  of  the  old  profes- 
sor, and  Andy  Sudds  went  off  on  occasional  hunt- 
ing trips. 

But  the  spirit  of  adventure  was  still  strong  in 
the  hearts  of  the  boys  and  the  professor.  One 
day,  in  the  midst  of  some  risky  experiments  at 
college,  Jack  and  Mark,  as  related  in  "Through 
Space  to  Mars,"  received  a  telegram  from  Pro- 
fessor Henderson,  calling  them  home. 

There  they  found  their  friend  entertaining  as 
a  guest  Professor  Santell  Roumann,  who  was 
almost  as  celebrated  as  was  Mr.  Henderson,  in 
the  matter  of  inventions. 

Professor  Roumann  made  a  strange  proposi- 


SOMETHING   ABOUT   OUR   HEROES     15 

tion.  He  said  if  the  old  scientist  and  his  young 
friends  would  build  the  proper  kind  of  a  pro- 
jectile, they  could  make  a  trip  to  the  planet  Mars, 
by  means  of  a  wonderful  motor,  operated  by  » 
power  called  Etherium,  of  which  Mr.  Roumanh 
held  the  secret. 

After  some  discussion,  the  projectile,  called  the 
Annihilator,  from  the  fact  that  it  annihilated 
space,  was  begun.  It  was  two  hundred  feet  long, 
ten  feet  in  diameter  in  the  middle,  and  shaped 
like  a  cigar.  It  consisted  of  a  double  shell  of 
strong  metal,  with  a  non-conducting  gas  between 
the  two  sides. 

Within  it  were  various  machines,  besides  the 
Etherium  motor,  which  would  send  the  projectile 
along  at  the  rate  of  one  hundred  miles  a  second. 
This  great  speed  was  necessary  in  order  to  reach 
the  planet  Mars,  which,  at  the  time  our  friends 
started  for  it,  was  about  thirty-five  millions  of 
miles  away  from  this  earth.  It  has  since  receded 
some  distance  farther  than  this. 

Finally  all  was  in  readiness  for  the  start  to 
Mars.  Professor  Roumann  wanted  to  prove  that 
the  planet  was  inhabited,  and  he  also  wanted  to 
get  some  of  a  peculiar  substance,  which  he  be- 
lieved gave  the  planet  its  rosy  hue.  He  had  an 
idea  that  it  would  prove  of  great  value. 

But,  though  every  precaution  was  taken,   the 


16  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

adventurers  were  not  to  get  away  from  the  earth 
safely.  Almost  at  the  last  minute,  a  crazy 
machinist,  named  Fred  Axtell,  who  was  refused 
work  on  the  projectile,  tried  to  blow  it  up  with  a 
bomb.  He  partly  succeeded,  but  the  damage  was 
repaired,  and  the  start  made. 

Inside  the  projectile  our  friends  shut  them- 
selves up,  and  the  powerful  motors  were  started. 
Off  it  shot,  at  the  rate  of  one  hundred  miles  a  sec- 
ond, but  the  travellers  were  as  comfortable  as  in 
a  Pullman  car.  They  had  plenty  to  eat  and  drink, 
they  manufactured  their  own  air  and  water,  and 
they  slept  when  they  so  desired. 

But  Axtell,  the  crazy  machinist,  had  hidden 
himself  aboard,  and,  in  mid-air,  he  tried  to  wreck 
the  projectile.  He  was  caught,  and  locked  up  in 
a  spare  room,  but,  when  Mars  was  reached,  he 
escaped. 

The  book  tells  how  our  friends  were  welcomed 
by  the  Martians,  how  they  learned  the  language, 
saw  many  strange  sights,  and  finally  got  on  the 
track  of  the  Cardite,  or  red  substance,  which  the 
German  professor,  Mr.  Roumann,  had  come  so 
far  to  seek.  This  Cardite  was  capable  of  great 
force,  and,  properly  controlled,  could  move  great 
weights  and  operate  powerful  machinery. 

Our  friends  wanted  to  take  some  back  to  earth 
with  them,  but  when  they  attempted  to  store  it  in 


SOMETHING   ABOUT   OUR   HEROES    17 

their  projectile,  they  met  with  objections,  for  the 
Martians  did  not  want  them  to  take  any.  They 
had  considerable  trouble,  and  the  crazy  machinist 
led  an  attack  of  the  soldiers  of  the  red  planet 
against  our  friends,  the  adventurers  in  the  pro- 
jectile. 

Among  the  other  curiosities  brought  away  by 
our  friends,  was  a  newspaper  printed  in  Mars, 
for  the  inhabitants  of  that  place  where  much  fur- 
ther advanced  along  certain  lines  than  we  are  on 
this  earth,  but  in  the  matter  of  newspapers  they 
had  little  to  boast  of,  save  that  the  sheets  were 
printed  by  wireless  electricity,  no  presses  being 
needed. 

As  told  at  the  opening  of  this  story,  Jack  had 
noticed  on  one  of  the  sheets  they  brought  back, 
an  account  of  how  some  of  the  Martians  made  a 
trip  to  the  moon,  and  discovered  a  field  of  Reon- 
aris.  This  trip  was  made  shortly  before  our 
friends  made  their  hasty  departure,  and  it 
was  undertaken  by  some  Martian  adventurers 
on  another  part  of  the  red  planet  than  where  the 
projectile  landed,  and  so  Professor  Henderson 
and  his  friends  did  not  hear  of  it  at  the  time. 

"Well,  then,  suppose  we  make  the  attempt  to 
go  to  the  moon,"  said  Professor  Roumann,  after 
a  long  discussion  in  the  laboratory.  "It  will  not 
take  long  to  get  ready." 


18  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

"I'd  like  to  go,"  said  Jack.  "How  about  you, 
Professor  Henderson?  Oh,  by  the  way,  Wash- 
ington said  you  wanted  to  see  Mark  and  me,  but 
I  was  so  interested  in  this  news  item,  that  I  forgot 
to  ask  what  it  was  about." 

"I  merely  wanted  to  inquire  when  you  and 
Mark  thought  of  resuming  your  studies  at  col- 
lege," said  the  aged  man,  "but,  since  this  matter 
has  come  up,  it  will  be  just  as  well  if  you  do  not 
arrange  to  resume  your  lessons  right  away." 

"We  can  study  while  making  the  trip  to  the 
moon,"   suggested  Mark. 

"Not  much,"  declared  Jack,  with  a  laugh. 
"There'll  be  too  much  to  see." 

"Well,  we'll  discuss  that  later,"  went  on  Mr. 
Henderson.  "Practically  speaking,  I  think  the 
voyage  can  be  made,  and,  the  more  I  think  of  it, 
the  better  I  like  the  idea.  We  will  look  over  the 
projectile  in  the  morning,  and  see  what  needs  to 
be  done  to  it  to  get  it  ready  for  another  trip 
through  space." 

"Not  much  will  have  to  be  done,  I  fancy,"  re- 
marked the  German  scientist.  "But  I  want  to 
make  a  few  improvements  in  the  Cardite  motor, 
which  I  will  use  in  place  of  the  Etherium  one,  that 
took  us  to  Mars." 

A  little  later  there  came  a  knock  on  the  rear 
door  of  the  rambling  old  house  where  the  pro- 


SOMETHING   ABOUT   OUR   HEROES     19 

fessor  lived  and  did  much  of  his  experimental 
work. 

"I'll  go,"  volunteered  Jack,  and  when  he 
opened  the  portal  there  stood  on  the  threshold  a 
small  boy,  Dick  Johnson,  one  of  the  village  lads. 

"What  is  it  you  want,  Dick?"  asked  Mark. 

"Here's  a  note  for  you,"  went  on  the  boy,  pass- 
ing over  a  slip  of  paper.  "I  met  a  man  down  the 
road,  and  he  gave  me  a  quarter  to  bring  it  here. 
He  said  it  was  very  important,  and  he's  waiting 
for  you  down  by  the  white  bridge  over  the  creek." 

"Waiting  for  who?"  asked  Jack. 

"For  Mark,  I  guess;  but  I  don't  know.  Any- 
how, the  note's  for  him." 

"Hum !    This  is  rather  strange,"  mused  Mark. 

"What  is  it?"  asked  Jack. 

"Why,  this  note.  It  says:  'It  is  important 
that  I  see  you.  I  will  wait  for  you  at  the  white 
bridge.'    That's  all  there  is  to  it." 

"No  name  signed?"  asked  Jack. 

"Not  a  name.  But  I'll  just  take  a  run  down 
and  see  who  it  is.  I'll  not  be  long.  Much 
obliged,  Dick." 

The  boy  who  had  brought  the  note  turned  to 
leave  the  house,  and  Mark  prepared  to  follow. 
Jack  said: 

"Let  me  see  that  note." 

He  scanned  it  closely,  and,  as  Mark  was  get- 


20  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

ting  on  his  hat  and  coat,  for  the  night  was  chilly, 
his  chum  went  on : 

"Mark,  if  I  didn't  know  that  we  had  left  Ax* 
tell,  the  crazy  machinist,  up  on  Mars,  I'd  say  that 
this  was  his  writing.  But,  of  course,  it's  im- 
possible." 

"Of  course — impossible,"  agreed  Mark. 

"But,  there's  one  thing,  though,"  continued 
Jack. 

"What's  that?"  asked  Mark. 

"I  don't  like  the  idea  of  you  going  off  alone 
in  the  dark,  to  meet  a  man  who  doesn't  sign  his 
name  to  the  note  he  wrote.  So,  if  you  have  no 
objections,  I'll  go  with  you.  No  use  taking  any 
chances." 

"I  don't  believe  I  run  any  risk,"  said  Mark, 
"but  I'll  be  glad  of  your  company.  Come  along. 
Maybe  it's  only  a  joke."  And  the  two  lads 
started  off  together  in  the  darkness  toward  the 
white  bridge. 


CHAPTER  III 

PREPARING  FOR  A  VOYAGE 

"Seems  like  rather  an  odd  thing;  doesn't  it?" 
remarked  Jack,  as  he  and  his  chum  walked  along. 

"What?" 

"This  note." 

"Oh,  yes.  But  what  made  you  think  the  writing 
looked  like  that  of  the  crazy  machinist  who  tried 
to  wreck  the  projectile?" 

"Because  I  once  saw  some  of  the  crazy  letters 
he  sent  us,  and  he  wrote  just  like  the  man  who 
gave  Dick  this  note.  But  come  on,  let's  hustle, 
and  see  what's  up." 

In  a  few  minutes  they  came  in  sight  of  the 
white  bridge,  which  was  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
down  Lhe  road  from  the  professor's  house.  The 
two  boys  kept  well  together,  and  they  were  watch- 
ing for  a  first  sight  of  the  man  in  waiting. 

"See  anything?"  asked  Jack. 

"No;  do  you?" 

"Not  a  thing.  Wait  until  we  get  closer.  He 
may  be  in  the  shadow.    It's  dark  now." 

21 


22  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

Almost  as  Jack  spoke,  the  moon,  which  had 
been  hidden  behind  a  bank  of  clouds,  peeped  out, 
making  the  scene  comparatively  bright.  The  boys 
peered  once  more  toward  the  bridge,  and,  as  they 
did  so,  they  saw  a  figure  step  from  the  shadows, 
stand  revealed  for  an  instant  in  the  middle  of  the 
structure,  and  then,  seemingly  after  a  swift  glance 
toward  the  approaching  chums,  the  person  darted 
off  in  the  darkness. 

"Did  you  see  that?"  cried  Jack. 

"Sure,"  assented  Mark.  "Guess  he  didn't  want 
to  wait  for  us.  Why,  he's  running  to  beat  the 
band!" 

"Let's  take  after  him,"  suggested  Jack,  and, 
nothing  loath,  Mark  assented.  The  two  lads 
broke  into  a  run,  but,  as  they  leaped  forward,  the 
man  also  increased  his  pace,  and  they  could  hear 
his  feet  pounding  out  a  tattoo  on  the  hard  road. 

The  two  youths  reached  the  bridge,  and  sped 
across  it.  They  glanced  hastily  on  either  side, 
thinking  possibly  the  man  might  have  had  some 
companions,  but  no  one  was  in  sight,  and  the 
stranger  himself  was  now  out  of  view  around  a 
bend  in  the  highway. 

"No  use  going  any  farther,"  suggested  Jack, 
pulling  up  at  the  far  side  of  the  bridge.  "There 
are  two  roads  around  the  bend,  and  we  couldn't 


PREPARING   FOR   A   VOYAGE  23 

tell  which  one  he'd  take.  Besides,  it  might  not 
be  altogether  safe  to  risk  it." 

Mark  and  Jack,  on  their  return,  told  Professor 
Henderson  and  the  German  scientist  something 
of  their  little  excursion. 

"But  who  could  he  have  been?"  asked  Mr. 
Roumann.  "Perhaps  if  you  ask  the  boy  who 
brought  the  note  he  can  tell  you." 

"We'll  do  it  in  the  morning,"  decided  Mark. 

"It's  peculiar  that  he  wanted  Mark  to  meet 
him,"  spoke  Amos  Henderson.  "Have  you  any 
enemies  that  you  know  of,  Mark?" 

"Not  a  one.  But  what  makes  you  think  this 
man  was  an  enemy,  Professor?" 

"From  the  fact  that  he  ran  when  he  saw  you 
and  Jack  together.  Evidently  he  expected  to  get 
Mark  out  alone." 

They  discussed  the  matter  for  some  time,  and 
then  the  boys  and  the  scientists  retired  to  bed, 
ready  to  begin  active  preparations  on  the  mor- 
row, for  their  trip  to  the  moon. 

There  was  much  to  be  done,  but  their  experi- 
ence in  making  other  wonderful  trips,  particularly 
the  one  to  Mars,  stood  the  travellers  in  good 
stead.    They  knew  just  how  to  go  to  work. 

To  Washington  was  entrusted  the  task  of  pre- 
paring the  food  supply,  since  he  was  to  act  as 


24  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

cook.  Andy  Sudds  was  instructed  to  look  after 
the  clothing  and  other  supplies,  except  those  of  a 
scientific  nature,  while  the  two  young  men  were  to 
act  as  general  helpers  to  the  two  professors. 

As  the  Annihilator  has  been  fully  described  in 
the  volume  entitled,  "Through  Space  to  Mars," 
there  is  no  need  to  dwell  at  any  length  on  the  con- 
struction of  the  projectile  in  which  our  friends 
hoped  to  travel  to  the  moon.  Sufficient  to  say 
that  it  was  a  sort  of  enclosed  airship,  capable  of 
travelling  through  space — that  is,  air  or  ether — at 
enormous  speed,  that  there  were  contained  within 
it  many  complicated  machines,  some  for  operating 
the  projectile,  some  for  offence  or  defence  against 
enemies,  such  as  electric  guns,  apparatus  for  mak- 
ing air  or  water,  and  scores  of  scientific  instru- 
ments. 

The  Annihilator  was  controlled  either  from  the 
engine  room,  or  from  a  pilot  house  forward.  As 
for  the  motive  power  it  was,  for  the  trip  to  the 
moon,  to  be  of  that  wonderful  Martian  substance, 
Cardite,  which  would  operate  the  motors. 

The  projectile  moved  through  space  by  the 
throwing  off  of  waves  of  energy,  similar  to  wire- 
less vibrations,  from  large  plates  of  metal,  and 
these  plates  were  the  invention  of  Professor  Rou- 
mann. 

Perhaps  to  some  of  my  readers  it  may  seem 


PREPARING   FOR   A   VOYAGE  25 

strange  to  speak  so  casually  of  a  trip  to  the  moon, 
but  it  must  be  remembered  that  our  friends  had 
already  accomplished  a  much  more  difficult  jour- 
ney, namely,  that  to  Mars.  So  the  moon  voyage 
was  not  to  daunt  them. 

Mars,  as  I  have  said,  was  thirty-five  millions  of 
miles  away  from  the  earth  when  the  Annihilator 
was  headed  toward  it.  To  reach  the  moon,  how- 
ever, but  252,972  miles,  at  the  most,  must  be  tra- 
versed— a  little  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  million 
miles.  As  the  distance  from  the  earth  to  the  moon 
varies,  being  between  the  figures  I  have  named, 
and  221,614  miles,  with  the  average  distance  com- 
puted as  being  238,840  miles,  it  can  readily  be 
seen  that  at  no  time  was  the  voyage  to  be  consid- 
ered as  comparing  in  distance  with  the  one  to 
Mars. 

But  there  were  other  matters  to  be  taken  into 
consideration,  and  our  friends  began  to  ponder 
on  them  in  the  days  during  which  they  made  their 
preparations. 


CHAPTER  IV 

AN   ACCIDENT 

Washington  White  was  kept  busy  getting 
together  the  food  for  the  voyage,  and  he  had 
about  completed  his  task,  while  Andy  Sudds  an» 
nounced  one  morning  that  his  department  was 
ready  for  inspection,  and  that  he  thought  he 
would  go  hunting  until  the  projectile  was  ready  to 
start. 

"Well,  if  you  see  anything  of  that  queer  man 
who  sent  me  the  note,  just  ask  him  what  he  meant 
by  it,"  suggested  Mark,  for  inquiry  from  the  boy 
who  had  brought  the  message,  developed  the  fact 
that  Dick  did  not  know  the  man,  nor  had  he  ever 
seen  him  before.  He  was  a  stranger  in  the  neigh- 
borhood. But,  as  nothing  more  resulted  from  it, 
the  two  lads  gave  the  matter  no  further  thought. 

"How  soon  before  we  will  be  ready  to  start?" 
asked  Jack  one  day,  while  he  and  his  chum,  with 
the  two  professors,  were  working  over  the  pro- 
jectile, which  was  soon  to  be  shot  through  space. 

26 


AN   ACCIDENT  27 

"In  about  two  weeks,"  replied  Mr.  Roumann. 
"I  want  to  make  a  few  changes  in  the  Cardite 
plates,  which  will  replace  the  ones  used  on  the 
Etherium  motor.  Then  I  want  to  test  them,  and, 
if  I  find  that  they  work  all  right,  as  I  hope,  we 
will  seal  ourselves  up  in  the  Annihilator,  and  start 
for  the  moon." 

"Are  you  going  to  try  to  go  around  it,  and  land 
on  the  side  turned  away  from  us?"  asked  Mark, 
who  had  been  studying  astronomy  lately. 

"What  do  you  mean  by  that?"  asked  Jack. 
"Doesn't  the  moon  turn  around?" 

"Not  as  the  earth  does,"  replied  his  chum;  "or, 
rather,  to  be  more  exact,  it  rotates  exactly  as  the 
earth  does,  on  its  axis;  but,  in  doing  this  it  occu- 
pies precisely  the  same  time  that  it  takes  to  make 
a  revolution  about  our  planet.  So  that,  in  the 
long  run,  to  quote  from  my  astronomy,  it  keeps 
the  same  side  always  toward  the  earth;  and  to- 
day, or,  to  be  more  correct,  each  night  that  the 
moon  is  visible,  we  see  the  same  face  and  aspect 
that  Galileo  did  when  he  first  loked  at  it  through 
his  telescope,  and,  unless  something  happens,  the 
same  thing  will  continue  for  thousands  of  years." 

"Then  we've  never  seen  the  other  side  of  the 
moon?"  asked  Jack. 

"Never;  and  that's  why  I  wondered  if  the  pro- 
fessor was  going  to  attempt  to  reach  it.     Perhaps 


28  LOST   ON    THE   MOON 

there  are  people  there,  and  air  and  water,  for  it 
is  practically  certain  that  there  is  neither  moisture 
nor  atmosphere  on  this  side  of  Luna." 

"Wow !  Then  maybe  we'd  better  not  go,"  said 
Jack,  with  a  shiver.  "What  will  we  do,  if  we  get 
thirsty?" 

"Oh,  I  guess  we  can  manage,  with  all  the  ap- 
paratus we  have,  to  distill  enough  water,"  said 
Professor  Henderson,  with  a  smile.  "Then,  too, 
we  will  take  plenty  with  us,  and,  of  course,  tanks 
of  oxygen  to  breathe.  But  it  will  be  interesting  to 
see  if  there  are  people  on  the  moon." 

"If  there  are  any,  they  must  have  a  queer  time," 
went  on  Mark. 

"Why?"  asked  Jack,  who  wasn't  very  fond  of 
study. 

"Why?  Because  the  moon  is  only  about  one 
forty-ninth  the  size  of  the  earth.  Its  diameter  is 
2,163  miles — only  a  quarter  of  the  earth's — and, 
comparing  the  force  of  gravity,  ours  is  much 
greater.  A  body  that  weighs  six  pounds  on 
the  earth,  would  weigh  only  one  pound  on  the 
moon,  and  a  man  on  the  moon  could  jump  six 
times  as  high  as  he  can  on  this  earth,  and  throw 
a  stone  six  times  as  far." 

"What's  dat?"  inquired  Washington  White 
quickly,  nearly  dropping  some  packages  he  was 
carrying   into    the    projectile.      "What   was   yo' 


AN   ACCIDENT  29 

pleased  t'  saggasiate,  in  remarkin'  concernin'  de 
untranquility  ob  the  densityness  ob  stones  jumpin' 
ober  a  man  what  is  six  times  high?"  he  asked. 

"Do  you  mean  what  did  I  say?"  asked  Mark 
solemnly. 

"Dat's  what  I  done  asked  yo',"  spoke  the  col- 
ored man  gravely. 

"Well,  you  didn't,  but  perhaps  you  meant  to," 
went  on  the  youth,  and  he  repeated  his  remarks. 

"  'Scuse  me,  I  guess  I'd  better  not  go  on  dish 
yeah  trip  after  all,"  came  from  Washington. 

"Why  not?"  demanded  Professor  Henderson. 

"  'Cause  I  ain't  goin'  t'  no  place  whar  ef  yo' 
wants  t'  take  a  little  jump  yo'  has  t'  go  six  times 
as  far  as  yo'  does  when  yo'  is  on  dis  yeah  earth. 
An'  s'posin'  some  ob  dem  moon  men  takes  a  no- 
tion t'  throw  a  stone  at  me?  Whar'll  I  be,  when 
a  stone  goes  six  times  as  far  as  it  does  on  heah? 
No,  sah,  I  ain't  goin' !" 

"But  perhaps  there  are  no  men  on  the  moon," 
said  Mark  quickly.  "It  is  only  a  theory  of  astron- 
omers that  I'm  talking  about." 

"Oh,  only  a  theory;  eh?"  asked  Washington 
quickly. 

"That's  all." 

"Oh,  if  it's  only  a  theory,  den  I  reckons  it's 
all  right,"  came  from  the  colored  man.  "I  didn't 
know  it  were  a  theory.     Dat  makes  it  all  right. 


30  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

It's  jest  in  theory,  am  it,  Massa  Mark,  dat  a  stone 
goes  six  times  as  far?" 

"That's  all." 

"Oh,  well,  den,  why  didn't  yo'  say  so  fust,  dat  it 
was  only  a  theory?  I  don't  mind  theories.  I — I 
used  t'  eat  'em  boiled  an'  roasted  befo'  de  wah." 
And,  with  a  contented  smile  on  his  face,  Wash- 
ington went  into  the  projectile,  to  finish  stowing 
things  away  in  his  kitchen  lockers. 

The  big  projectile  was  housed  in  the  shed  where 
it  had  been  constructed,  and  the  professor  and 
the  boys  were  working  over  it  there,  carefully 
guarded  from  curious  eyes,  for  the  German  in- 
ventor did  not  want  the  secret  of  his  Cardite 
motor  to  become  known. 

The  work  went  on  from  day  to  day,  good  prog- 
ress being  made.  The  boys  were  of  great  assis- 
tance, for  they  were  practical  mechanics,  and  had 
had  considerable  experience. 

"Well,  I  shall  try  the  Cardite  motor  to-mor- 
row," announced  Professor  Roumann  one  night, 
after  a  hard  day's  work  on  the  projectile. 

"Do  you  think  it  will  work?"  asked  Mr.  Hen- 
derson. 

"I  think  so,  yes.  My  experiments  have  made 
me  hopeful." 

"And  if  it  does  work,  when  can  we  start?" 
asked  Jack. 


AN   ACCIDENT  31 

"Two  days  later;  that  is,  if  everything  else  is 
in  readiness,  the  food  and  other  supplies  on 
board." 

"They  are  all  ready  to  be  stowed  away,"  said 
Andy  Sudds,  who  had  been  hunting  all  day. 

It  was  an  anxious  assemblage  that  gathered 
inside  the  big  shed  the  next  day,  to  watch  Pro- 
fessor Roumann  try  the  Cardite  motor.  Would 
it  work  as  well  as  had  the  Etherium  one?  Would 
it  send  them  along  through  space  at  enormous 
speed?  True,  they  would  not  have  to  travel  so 
far,  nor  so  fast,  but  more  power  would  be  needed, 
since,  as  it  was  feared  no  food,  water,  nor  air 
could  be  had  on  the  moon,  many  more  supplies 
were  to  be  taken  along  than  on  the  trip  to  Mars, 
and  this  made  the  projectile  heavier. 

"We  will  test  the  Cardite  in  this  small  motor 
first,"  said  Mr.  Roumann,  as  he  pointed  to  a  ma- 
chine in  the  projectile  used  for  winding  a  cable 
around  a  windlass  when  there  was  necessity  for 
hauling  the  Annihilator  about,  without  sending  it 
into  the  air. 

Into  the  receptacle  of  the  motor,  the  German 
professor  placed  some  of  the  wonderful  red  sub- 
stance he  had  secured  from  Mars.  Then  he 
closed  the  heavy  metal  box  that  held  it,  and,  look- 
ing about  to  see  if  all  was  in  readiness,  he  mo- 


32  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

tioned  to  those  watching  him  that  he  was  about  to 
shift  the  lever  that  would  start  the  motor. 

"If  it  works  as  well  as  I  hope  it  will,"  he  said, 
"it  ought  to  pull  the  projectile  slowly  across  the 
shop — a  task  that  would  be  impossible  in  a  motor 
of  this  size,  if  operated  by  electricity,  gasoline,  or 
any  other  force  at  present  in  use.  And,  if  this 
small  motor  will  do  that,  I  know  the  large  ones 
will  send  us  through  space  to  the  moon.  All 
ready,  now." 

Slowly  the  professor  shoved  over  the  lever, 
while  Jack,  Mark  and  the  others  watched  him 
carefully.  They  were  standing  back  of  him,  in 
the  engine  room  of  the  projectile. 

There  was  a  clicking  sound  as  the  lever  snapped 
into  place.  This  was  succeeded  by  a  buzzing 
hum,  as  the  motor  began  to  absorb  the  great 
power  from  the  red  substance,  which  was  not  un- 
like radium  in  its  action.  There  was  a  trembling 
to  the  great  projectile. 

"She's  moving!"  cried  Jack. 

Hardly  had  he  spoken  when  there  was  a  flash 
of  red  fire,  a  sound  as  of  a  bursting  bomb,  and 
everyone  was  knocked  from  his  feet,  over  back- 
ward, while  Professor  Roumann  was  hurled  the 
entire  length  of  the  engine  room. 

"Th«?  Cardite  motor  has  exploded!"  cried 
Mark.    "Professor  Roumann  is  killed!" 


CHAPTER  V 

THE   WORK   OF   AN   ENEMY 

Jack's  first  act,  on  arising  from  amid  a  mass 
of  tools,  into  which  he  had  been  tossed  by  the  ex- 
plosion, was  to  run  to  where  Professor  Roumann 
lay  in  a  semi-conscious  condition.  An  instant  later 
Mark  slowly  arose,  and  made  his  way  to  where 
Professor  Henderson  was  rubbing  his  forehead 
in  a  dazed  fashion. 

"Are  you  hurt?"  asked  Mark,  of  his  aged 
friend. 

"I  think  not,"  answered  Mr.  Henderson  slowly, 
"but  I  fear  Mr.  Roumann  is.  See  to  him;  I'm  all 
right." 

"He's  breathing,"  cried  Jack,  who  had  bent 
over  the  German.     "He  isn't  dead,  at  any  rate." 

"But  he  may  be,  unless  he  gets  attention,"  said 
Professor  Henderson.  "Get  my  medicine  chest, 
Mark,  and  we'll  see  what  we  can  do  for  him." 

Jack  had  raised  the  head  of  the  injured  man  on 
his  arm,  and  was  giving  him  some  water  from  a 
glass.     This  partially  revived  the  German,  and 

33 


,34  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

he  opened  his  eyes.  He  looked  around,  into  the 
faces  of  his  friends,  as  if  scarcely  comprehending 
what  had  happened,  and  then,  as  his  gaze  wan- 
dered toward  the  disabled  Cardite  motor,  he  ex- 
claimed: 

"Some  enemy  has  done  this !  The  motor  was 
tampered  with.  The  resistance  block  was  loos- 
ened, and  that  caused  the  force  of  the  Cardite 
to  shoot  out  at  the  rear.  We  must  watch  out  for 
the  work  of  this  enemy!" 

"Don't  distress  yourself  about  that  now," 
urged  Mr.  Henderson.  "Are  you  badly  hurt? 
Do  you  need  a  doctor?" 

The  German  slowly  drank  the  rest  of  the  water 
which  Jack  gave  him,  and  then  gradually  arose 
to  a  standing  position. 

"I  am  all  right,"  he  said  faintly,  "except  that  I 
feel  a  trifle  dizzy.  Something  hit  me  on  the  head, 
and  the  fumes  from  the  Cardite  took  away  my 
breath  for  a  moment.  I  think  I  shall  be  all  right 
soon." 

"Here  is  the  medicine  chest!"  exclaimed  Mark, 
coming  back  into  the  engine  room.  Mr.  Hen- 
derson poured  out  some  aromatic  spirits  of  am- 
monia into  a  graduated  glass,  added  a  little  water, 
and  gave  it  to  his  fellow  inventor,  who,  after 
drinking  it,  declared  that  he  felt  much  better. 
There  was  a  cut  on  his  forehead,  where  a  piece  of 


THE   WORK   OF   AN   ENEMY  35 

the  broken  motor  had  struck  him,  but,  otherwise,,, 
he  did  not  seem  injured  externally. 

As  for  the  boys,  they  were  only  stunned,  nor 
was  Mr.  Henderson  more  than  momentarily 
shocked.  In  a  few  minutes  the  German  profes- 
sor was  almost  himself  again. 

"We  must  try  to  discover  who  our  enemy  is," 
he  said  earnestly,  as  he  looked  over  the  disabled 
motor.  "He  might  have  blown  up  the  whole  pro- 
jectile by  tampering  as  he  did  with  the  machinery. 
Had  I  been  testing  the  large,  instead  of  the  small 
motor,  there  would  have  been  nothing  left  of  the 
Annihilator,  or  us,  either.  Who  could  have  done 
this?  If  that  crazy  machinist  is  around 
again " 

"I  don't  believe  he  could  get  here  from  Mars," 
interrupted  Jack,  with  a  smile. 

"Hardly,"  added  Mark. 

"No,  I  guess  he  is  still  on  the  Red  Planet,  so 
it  couldn't  have  been  him,"  went  on  Mr.  Rou- 
mann.     "But  it  was  some  one." 

Jack  and  Mark  at  once  thought  of  the  odd  man 
who  had  sent  Mark  the  note,  and  then  had  run 
away. 

"Could  it  have  been  him?"  suggested  Jack. 

"It's  possible,"  remarked  Professor  Hender- 
son. "We  must  be  on  our  guard.  I  wonder  if 
Washington " 


36  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

At  that  moment  there  sounded  a  violent  pound* 
ing  on  the  exterior  of  the  projectile,  and  the  voice 
of  the  colored  man  could  be  heard  calling: 

"Am  anything  de  mattah?  Andy  Sudds  an'  I 
is  out  heah,  an'  we  heard  suffin  goin'  on  in  dere. 
Am  anybody  hurted?" 

"It's  all  over  now,  Wash,"  replied  Jack,  for 
the  two  boys,  and  the  two  professors,  had  shut 
themselves  up  in  the  projectile  while  they  con- 
ducted the  experiment.  Jack  opened  the  door 
of  the  Annihilator  and  stepped  out,  being  met  by 
the  colored  man  and  the  old  hunter. 

"You  haven't  seen  any  suspicious  characters 
around,  have  you,  Wash?"  asked  Mark.  "Some 
one  has  been  tampering  with  a  motor,  and  it  ex- 
ploded." 

"Nobody's  been  around  since  I've  been  here," 
announced  Andy  Sudds,  with  a  significant  glance 
at  his  gun. 

"Maybe  it's  some  ob  dem  moon-men,  what 
don't  laik  de  idea  ob  us  goin'  dere  arter  dere 
diamonds,"  volunteered  the  colored  man. 

"Perhaps,"  admitted  Jack,  with  a  smile.  "But 
certainly  some  one  has  been  around  here  who  had 
no  business  to  be,  and  we  must  find  out  who  it 
was.     Better  take  a  look  around,  Wash." 

"I'll  help  him,"  said  Andy,  and,  with  his  rifle 


THE   WORK  OF  AN   ENEMY  Z7 

In  readiness  for  any  intruders,  the  old  hunter  fol- 
lowed the  colored  man  outside  the  big  shed. 

Meanwhile  Professor  Roumann  and  Mr.  Hen- 
derson were  carefully  examining  the  exploded 
motor. 

"I  should  have  looked  at  the  breech  plug  be- 
fore turning  on  the  power,"  said  the  German, 
"but  I  had  no  reason  to  suspect  that  anything  was 
wrong."  He  went  on  to  explain  that  the  explosion 
was  something  like  that  which  occurs  when  the 
breech-block  of  a  big  navy  gun  is  not  properly  in 
place.  The  force  of  the  Cardite,  instead  of  being 
directed  against  the  piston-heads  of  the  motor, 
shot  out  backward,  and  almost  into  the  face  of  the 
professor,  who  was  operating  the  machine. 

"But  what  could  be  their  object?"  asked  Mark. 
"Who  would  want  to  injure  us,  or  damage  the 
projectile?" 

"Some  enemy,  of  course,"  declared  Jack.  "But 
who?  The  crazy  machinist  is  out  of  it,  and  as 
for  that  man  who  sent  the  note  to  you,  he  seemed 
too  big  a  coward  to  attempt  anything  like  this." 

"Some  one  evidently  sneaked  in  here  and  loos- 
ened the  breech-plug,"  went  on  Mark,  "and  it  was 
evidently  done  with  the  idea  of  delaying  us.  The 
enemy  could  not  have  desired  to  utterly  disable 
the  projectile,  or  else  he  would  have  tampered 


38  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

with  the  large  motor,  instead  of  the  small  one." 

"Yes,  the  object  seems  to  have  been  to  delay 
us,"  admitted  Professor  Henderson;  "yet,  I  can't 
understand  why.  Whoever  did  it  evidently  knows 
something  about  machinery." 

"I  hope  they  did  not  discover  the  secret  of  my 
Cardite  motor,"  said.  Professor  Roumann  quickly. 

"They  hardly  had  time,"  declared  Mark.  "We 
have  been  in  or  around  the  projectile  nearly  every 
minute  of  the  day,  and  whoever  it  was,  must  have 
watched  his  chance,  slipped  in,  stayed  a  few  sec- 
onds, and  then  slipped  out  again." 

They  went  carefully  over  the  entire  projectile, 
but  could  find  no  further  damage  done.  Nor  were 
there  any  traces  of  the  person  who  had  so  nearly 
caused  a  tragedy.  Washington  and  Andy,  after 
a  careful  search  outside  the  shed,  had  to  admit 
that  they  had  no  clews. 

"Well,  the  only  thing  to  do  is  to  go  to  work  and 
build  a  new  small  motor,"  announced  Professor 
Roumann,  after  once  more  looking  over  the 
debris  of  the  one  that  had  exploded. 

"Will  it  take  long?"  asked  Jack. 

"About  two  weeks.  Fortunately,  I  can  use  some 
of  the  parts  of  this  one,  or  we  would  be  delayed 
longer." 

"Still  two  weeks  is  quite  a  while,"  suggested 
Mark.    "Perhaps  there'll  be  no  diamonds  left  on 


THE   WORK   OF   AN   ENEMY  39 

the  moon  when  we  get  there,  Jack,"  and  he  smiled 
jokingly. 

"Oh,  I  fancy  there  will.  The  article  in  the 
paper  from  Mars  says  there  was  a  whole  field  of 
them." 

"This  brings  up  another  matter,"  said  Profes- 
sor Henderson.  "What  will  happen  if  we  bring 
back  bushels  and  bushels  of  diamonds? — which, 
in  view  of  what  the  paper  says,  may  be  possible. 
We  will  swamp  the  market,  and  the  value  of  dia- 
monds will  drop." 

"Then  we  must  not  throw  them  upon  the  mar- 
ket," decided  Professor  Roumann.  "The  scarcity 
of  an  article  determines  its  value.  If  we  do  find 
plenty  of  diamonds,  it  will  give  me  a  chance  to 
conduct  some  experiments  I  have  long  postponed 
because  of  a  lack  of  the  precious  stones.  We  can 
use  them  for  laboratory  purposes,  and  need  not 
sell  them.  In  fact,  with  the  Cardite  we  brought 
back  from  Mars,  we  have  no  lack  of  money,  so 
we  really  do  not  need  the  diamonds." 

It  was  decided,  in  view  of  the  shock  and  upset 
caused  by  the  explosion,  that  no  further  work 
would  be  done  that  day,  and  so,  after  carefully 
locking  the  shed,  and  posting  Andy  on  guard  with 
his  gun,  the  boys  and  the  professor  went  into  the 
house  to  discuss  matters,  and  plan  for  work  the 
next  day. 


40  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

"Mark,"  said  Jack  in  a  low  voice,  as  they  fol- 
lowed the  two  scientists,  "I  think  it's  up  to  us  to 
try  to  find  that  mysterious  man  who  sent  the  note. 
I  think  he  did  this  mean  trick!" 

"So  do  I,  and  we'll  have  a  hunt  for  him.  Let's 
go  now." 


CHAPTER  VI 

ON  THE   TRACK 

The  two  boys  gazed  after  Professors  Hender« 
son  and  Roumann.  The  scientists  were  deep  in  a 
discussion  of  various  technical  matters,  which  dis- 
cussion, it  was  evident,  made  them  oblivious  to 
everything  else. 

"Shall  we  ask  them?"  inquired  Jack  in  a 
whisper. 

"No;  what's  the  use?"  queried  Mark.  "Let's 
go  off  by  ourselves,  and  perhaps  we  can  discover 
something.  If  we  could  once  get  on  the  trail  of 
the  man  who  wrote  the  note,  I  think  we  could  put 
our  hands  on  the  person  responsible  for  the  blow- 
ing up  of  the  motor." 

"I  agree  with  you.  We  won't  bother  them 
about  our  plans,"  and  he  waved  his  hand  toward 
the  scientists,  who  had,  by  this  time,  entered  the 
house. 

"In  the  first  place,"  said  Mark,  as  he  and  his 
chum  turned  from  the  yard,  and  walked  along  a 
quiet  country  road,  "I  think  our  best  plan  will  be 
td  /ind  Dick  Johnson,  and  ask  him  just  where  it 


42  LOST   ON   THE  MOON 

was  he  met  the  man  who  gave  him  a  quarter  to 
bring  the  note  to  me." 

"What  for?"  asked  Jack. 

"Why,  then,  we  can  tell  where  to  start  from. 
Perhaps  Dick  can  give  us  a  description  of  the  man, 
or  tell  from  what  direction  he  came.  Then  we'll 
know  how  to  begin  on  the  trail." 

"That's  a  good  idea,  I  guess.  We  know  where 
he  disappeared  to,  or,  rather,  in  nearly  what  direc- 
tion, so  that  will  help  some." 

"Sure.    Well,  then,  let's  find  Dick." 

To  the  inquiries  of  the  two  lads  from  the  pro- 
jectile, Dick  Johnson  replied  that,  as  he  had  as- 
serted once  before,  that  the  man  was  a  stranger 
to  him. 

"He  was  tall,  and  had  a  big  black  mustache," 
Dick  described,  "but  he  kept  his  hat  pulled  down 
over  his  eyes,  so  I  couldn't  see  his  face  very  well. 
Anyhow,  it  was  dark  when  I  met  him." 

"Where  did  you  meet  him?"  asked  Mark. 

"Not  far  from  your  house.  He  was  standing 
on  the  corner,  where  you  turn  down  to  go  to  the 
woollen  mill,  and,  as  I  passed  him,  he  asked  me  if 
I  wanted  to  earn  a  quarter." 

"Of  course  you  said  you  did,"  suggested  Jack. 

"Sure,"  replied  Dick.  "Then  he  gave  me  the 
note,  and  told  me  where  to  take  it,  and  I  did. 
That  wasn't  wrong,  was  it?" 


ON   THE   TRACK  43 

"No;  only  there  seems  to  be  something  queer 
about  the  man,  and  we  want  to  find  out  what  it 
is,"  replied  Mark. 

"What  was  the  man  doing  when  you  saw  him?" 
asked  Jack. 

"Standing,  and  sort  of  looking  toward  your 
house." 

"Looking  toward  our  house?"  repeated  Jack. 
"Was  he  anywhere  near  the  big  shed  where  we 
build  the  machines?" 

"Well,  I  couldn't  say.  Maybe  he  might  have 
been." 

"I  guess  that's  all  you  can  tell  us,"  put  in  Mark, 
with  a  glance  at  his  chum,  to  warn  him  not  to  go 
too  much  into  details  with  Dick,  for  they  did  not 
want  it  known  that  some  enemy  had  tried  to 
wreck  the  projectile. 

"Yes,  I  can't  tell  you  any  more,"  admitted  the 
small  lad. 

"Well,  here's  a  quarter  for  what  you  did  tell 
us,"  said  Jack,  "and  if  you  see  that  man  again,  and 
he  gives  you  a  note  for  us,  just  keep  your  eye  or 
him,  watch  where  he  goes,  and  tell  us.  Then  you 
will  get  a  half-dollar." 

"Gee !  I'll  be  on  the  watch,"  promised  Dick, 
his  eyes  shining  at  the  prospect  of  so  much  money. 

"Come  on,"  suggested  Jack  to  his  chum,  after 
the  small  chap  had  departed.    "Let's  go  down  by 


44  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

the  white  bridge  and  make  some  inquiries  of 
people  living  in  that  vicinity.  They  may  have 
seen  a  stranger  hanging  around,  and,  perhaps  we 
can  get  on  his  trail  that  way." 

"All  right,"  agreed  Mark,  and  they  walked  on 
together. 

They  had  gone  quite  a  distance  away  from 
the  bridge,  and  had  made  several  inquiries,  but 
had  met  with  no  success,  and  they  were  about  to 
give  up  and  go  back  home. 

"I  know  one  person  we  haven't  inquired  of  yet," 
said  Mark,  as  they  tramped  along. 

"Who's  that?" 

"Old  Bascomb,  who  lives  alone  in  a  shack  on 
the  edge  of  the  creek.  You  know  the  old  codger 
who  traps  muskrats." 

"Oh,  sure;  but  I  don't  believe  he'd  know  any- 
thing. If  he  did,  he's  so  cranky  he  wouldn't  tell 
you." 

"Maybe  he  would,  if  we  gave  him  a  little  money 
for  some  smoking  tobacco.  It's  worth  trying,  any- 
how. Bascomb  goes  around  a  great  deal,  and  he 
may  have  met  a  strange  man  in  his  travels." 

"Well,  go  ahead;  we'll  ask  him." 

The  muskrat  trapper  did  not  prove  to  be  in  a 
very  pleasant  frame  of  mind,  but,  after  Mark  had 
given  him  a  quarter,  Bascomb  consented  to  answer 
a  few  questions.    The  boys  told  him  about  looking 


ON   THE   TRACK  45 

for  a  strange  man,  describing  him  as  best  they 
could,  though  they  did  not  tell  why  they  wanted 
to  find  him. 

"Wa'al,  now,  I  shouldn't  be  surprised  but  what 
I  know  the  very  fellow  you  want,"  said  the  trap- 
per. "I  met  him  a  couple  of  days  back,  an'  I 
think  he's  still  hanging  around.  Fust  I  thought 
he  was  after  some  of  my  traps,  but  when  I  found 
he  wa'ant,  I  didn't  pay  no  more  attention  to  him. 
He  looked  jest  like  you  say." 

"Where  was  he?"  asked  Jack  eagerly. 

"Walkin'  along  the  creek,  sort  of  absent-minded 
like." 

"You  don't  know  where  he  lives,  or  whether  he 
is  staying  in  this  vicinity,  do  you?"  inquired  Mark. 

"Ya'as,  I  think  I  do,"  replied  the  trapper. 

"Where?"  cried  Jack  eagerly. 

"Wa'al,  you  know  the  old  Preakness  home* 
stead,  down  by  the  bend  of  the  creek,  about  four 
mile  below  here?" 

"Sure  we  know  it,"  answered  Mark.  "We 
used  to  go  in  swimming  not  far  from  there." 

"Wa'al,  the  old  house  has  been  deserted  now 
for  quite  a  spell,"  went  on  the  trapper,  "and  there 
ain't  nobody  lived  in  it  but  tramps.  But  the  other 
night,  when  I  was  comin'  past,  with  a  lot  of  rats 
I'd  jest  taken  out  of  my  traps,  I  see  a  light  in  the 
old  house.    Thinks  I,  to  myself,  that  there's  more 


46  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

tramps  snoozin'  in  there,  and  I  didn't  reckon  it 
was  none  of  my  business,  so  I  kept  on.  But  jest 
as  I  was  walking  past  the  main  gate,  some  one 
come  out  of  the  house  and  hurried  away.  I  had 
a  good  look  at  him,  an'- " 

"Who  was  it?"  asked  Mark  impatiently,  for 
the  old  trapper  was  a  slow  talker. 

"It  was  the  same  man  you're  lookin'  for,"  de- 
clared Bascomb.  "I'm  sure  of  it,  an'  he's  hangin' 
out  in  the  old  Preakness  house.  If  you  want  t' 
see  him,  why  don't  you  go  there?" 

"We  will!"  cried  Jack.  "Come  on,  Mark.  I 
think  we're  on  the  trail  at  last." 


CHAPTER  VII 

MARK   IS    CAPTURED 

Eagerly  the  boys  hurried  forward,  intent  on 
making  the  best  time  possible  to  the  old  Preakness 
homestead,  which  was  a  landmark  for  miles 
around,  and  which,  in  its  day,  had  been  a  hand- 
some house  and  estate.  Now  it  was  fallen  into 
ruins,  for  there  was  a  dispute  among  the  heirs, 
and  the  property  was  in  the  Chancery  Court. 

"Do  you  think  we'll  find  him  there?"  asked 
Mark,  as  they  made  their  way  along  the  dusty 
highway. 

"Hard  to  tell.  Yet,  if  he's  hanging  out  in  this 
neighborhood,  that  would  be  as  good  a  place  as 
any,  for  him  to  hide  in." 

"I  wonder  who  he  can  be,  anyhow?  And  how 
he  knows  me?" 

"Give  it  up.  Evidently  he  isn't  a  tramp, 
though  he  stays  in  a  place  where  there  are  plenty 
of  the  Knights  of  the  Road." 

The  boys  increased  their  pace,  and  were  soon 
on  the  main  road  leading  to  the  Preakness  house, 
and  about  a  mile  away  from  it. 

47 


48  LOST  ON   THE   MOON 

"We'll  soon  be  there  now,"  remarked  Jack. 
"Then  we'll  see  if  we  can  find  that  man." 

As  he  spoke,  the  lad  put  his  hand  in  his  pocket, 
and,  a  moment  later,  he  uttered  a  startled  cry. 

"What's  the  matter?"  asked  Mark,  in  some 
alarm. 

"Matter?  Why,  gee  whiz!  If  I  haven't  for- 
gotten to  send  that  telegram  Professor  Henderson 
gave  me !  It's  to  order  some  special  tools  to  take 
along  on  our  trip  to  the  moon.  They  didn't  come, 
and  the  professor  wrote  out  a  message  urging  the 
factory  to  hurry  the  shipment.  He  gave  it  to  me 
to  send,  just  before  the  accident  to  the  motor,  but 
when  that  happened  it  knocked  it  out  of  my  mind, 
I  guess.  I  stuck  the  telegram  in  my  pocket,  and 
here  it  is  yet,"  and  Jack  drew  forth  a  crumpled 
paper.  "Wouldn't  that  make  you  tired?"  he 
asked.  "It's  important,  and  ought  to  go  at  once. 
The  professor  won't  like  it." 

"I'll  tell  you  what  to  do,"  suggested  Mark, 
after  a  moment's  thought.  "The  telegraph  office 
isn't  so  far  away  from  here.  You  can  cut  across 
lots,  and  be  there  in  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes.  Tell 
'em  to  rush  the  message,  and  it  may  be  in  time  yet. 
Anyhow,  we're  going  to  be  delayed  because  of  the 
accident  to  the  motor,  so  it  won't  make  so  much 
difference.  But  come  on,  let's  start,  and  we  can 
hurry  back." 


MARK   IS    CAPTURED  49 

"I  guess  that's  the  best  plan,"  remarked  Jack 
dubiously,  for  he  did  not  fancy  a  half-hour's 
tramp  across  the  fields  and  back  again.  Then,  as 
he  thought  of  something  else,  he  called  out: 

"Say,  Mark,  there's  no  use  of  both  of  us  going 
to  the  telegraph  office.  I'll  go  alone,  as  it's  my 
fault,  and  you  can  stay  here,  and  watch  to  see  if 
that  strange  man  appears  on  the  scene.  I'll  not 
be  long,  and  you  can  wait  for  me  here." 

"How  would  it  be  if  I  went  on  a  little  nearer  to 
the  Preakness  house?"  asked  Mark.  "I  can  meet 
you  there  just  as  well  as  here,  and  something  may 
develop." 

"Good  idea !  You  go  on,  and  when  I  come 
back,  I'll  take  the  road  that  leads  through  the  old 
slate  quarry,  and  save  some  time  that  way.  I'll 
meet  you  right  near  the  old  barn  that  stands  on 
the  Gilbert  property,  just  before  you  reach  the 
Preakness  grounds." 

"All  right ;  I'll  be  there,  but  don't  run  your  legs 
off.  We're  out  for  all  day,  and  there  isn't  any- 
thing that  needs  to  be  done  at  home,  or  around 
the  projectile,  so  take  your  time." 

"Oh,  I'll  not  go  to  sleep,"  declared  Jack.  "I 
want  to  see  if  we  can't  solve  the  mystery  of  the 
man  who  writes  such  queer  notes." 

Jack  started  off  across  the  fields  at  a  swift  pace, 
svhile  Mark  strolled  on  down  the  road,  in  the 


SO  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

direction  of  the  old  Preakness  house.  He  was 
thinking  of  many  things,  chiefly  of  the  wonderful 
journey  that  lay  before  them,  and  he  was  wonder- 
ing what  the  moon  would  look  like  when  they  got 
to  it. 

That  it  would  be  a  wild,  desolate  place,  he  had 
no  doubt,  for  the  evidences  of  the  telescopes  of 
astronomers  pointed  that  way,  and,  as  is  well 
known,  the  most  powerful  instruments  can  now 
bring  the  moon  to  within  an  apparent  distance  of 
one  hundred  miles  of  the  earth.  This  is  true  of 
the  Lick  telescope,  which  has  a  magnifying  power 
of  2,500  and  an  object  lens  a  yard  across. 

But,  with  this  powerful  telescope,  it  has  been 
impossible  to  distinguish  any  such  objects  as  for- 
ests, cities,  or  any  evidences  of  life  on  the  moon — 
that  is,  on  the  side  that  has  always  been  turned 
toward  us. 

Almost  unconsciously,  Mark  went  on  faster 
than  he  intended,  and,  before  he  knew  it,  he  had 
arrived  at  the  barn  where  he  had  promised  to  wait 
for  his  chum.  Mark  looked  at  his  watch,  and 
found  that  he  would  still  have  some  time  to  linger 
before  he  could  expect  Jack  to  return.  He  sat 
down  on  a  stone  beside  the  fence,  and  looked 
about  him.  The  day  was  warm  for  fall,  and  the 
last  of  the  crickets  were  chirping  away,  while,  in 


MARK   IS    CAPTURED  51 

distant  fields,  men  could  be  seen  husking  corn,  or 
drawing  in  loads  of  yellow  pumpkins. 

"I  wonder  if  we'll  have  pumpkin  pie  on  the 
moon,"  thought  Mark.  "Though,  of  course,  we 
won't.  I  guess  all  we'll  have  to  eat  will  be  what 
Washington  takes  along  in  the  projectile — that  is, 
unless  we  find  people  on  the  other  side  of  the 
place." 

He  sat  on  the  stone  for  some  minutes  longer, 
and  then,  tiring  of  the  inactivity,  he  arose  and 
strolled  about.  Something  seemed  to  draw  him  in 
the  direction  of  the  old  house,  which  he  knew  was 
just  around  the  bend  in  the  road. 

"I  guess  there  wouldn't  be  any  harm  in  my  go- 
ing along  and  taking  a  peep  at  it,"  mused  the  lad. 
"It  will  be  some  time  before  Jack  returns,  and  I 
may  be  able  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  our  man.  I 
think  I'll  go  up  where  I  can  see  the  place,  and  I 
can  come  back  in  time  to  meet  Jack.  I'll  do  it. 
Maybe  the  fellow  might  escape  while  I'm 
waiting." 

Mark  thus  tried  to  justify  himself  for  his  ac- 
tion in  not  keeping  to  his  agreement  with  his  chum. 
Of  course  it  was  not  an  important  matter,  Mark 
thought,  though  the  results  of  his  simple  action 
were  destined  to  be  more  far-reaching  than  he 
imagined.     He  thought  he  would  be  back  in  time 


52  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

to  meet  Jack,  and  so  he  strolled  on,  going  more 
cautiously  now,  for,  in  a  few  minutes  he  would 
come  in  sight  of  the  old,  deserted  house,  and  he 
did  not  know  what  he  might  find  there. 

Mark's  first  sight  of  the  Preakness  homestead 
was  of  two  old  stone  posts,  that  had  once  formed 
a  fine  gateway.  The  posts  were  in  ruins,  now, 
and  half  fallen  down,  being  covered  with  Vir- 
ginia creeper,  the  leaves  of  which  were  now  a 
vivid  red,  mingled  with  green. 

"Nothing  very  alarming  there,"  said  Mark, 
half  aloud.  He  could  just  catch  a  glimpse  of  the 
roof  of  the  house  over  the  tops  of  the  trees, 
which  had  not  yet  shed  all  their  leaves.  "Guess 
I'll  go  on  a  little  farther.  Maybe  our  friend,  the 
enemy,  is  sitting  on  the  front  porch,  sunning  him- 
self." 

Past  the  old  gateway  Mark  continued,  intend- 
ing to  proceed  along  the  highway  until  he  got  di- 
rectly in  front  of  the  old  mansion.  There,  he 
knew,  he  would  have  a  good  view,  unobstructed 
by  trees  or  shrubbery. 

When  the  lad  got  to  this  place  in  the  road,  he 
paused,  and  stooped  over,  as  if  tying  the  lace  of 
his  shoe,  for  it  was  his  intention  to  pass  himself 
off,  if  possible,  as  a  casual  passer-by,  so  that  in 
case  the  mysterious  man  should  be  in  the  house, 
his  suspicions  would  not  be  aroused  by  seeing  the 


MARK   IS    CAPTURED  53 

youth  to  whom  he  had  written  the  note  staring  in 
at  him. 

And,  while  he  was  apparently  fussing  with  his 
shoe,   Mark  was  narrowly  eying  the  old  house. 

"Not  a  very  inviting  place,"  thought  Mark. 
"I  don't  see  why  any  man  who  could  afford  any- 
thing better,  would  stay  there — unless  he  has 
some  strong  motive  for  lingering  in  this  section. 
And  that's  probably  what  this  fellow  has,  and  I'd 
like  to  discover  it.  Well,  I  don't  see  any  signs  of 
him,  so  I  guess  I  might  as  well  go  back,  and  wait 
for  Jack.     He'll  be  along  soon." 

He  stood  up,  took  a  good  look  at  the  house, 
and  was  about  to  retrace  his  steps  down  the  high- 
way, when  he  saw  the  sagging  front  door  of  the 
old  mansion  slowly  open.  It  creaked  on  the 
rusty  hinges,  and  Mark  stared  with  all  his  might 
as  he  saw  a  man  emerge,  a  man  who  did  not  look 
like  a  tramp,  for  his  clothes  were  of  good  mate- 
rial and  cut,  and  fit  him  well.  Nor  did  he  wear 
a  stubbly  growth  of  beard,  but,  on  the  contrary, 
his  face  was  clean  shaven.  The  man  was  about 
Mark's  size,  perhaps  a  little  taller,  and  nearly  as 
stout.  He  stood  on  the  sagging  porch,  and 
gazed  off  toward  the  road. 

"Well,  if  that's  the  man  Dick  Johnson  got  the 
note  from  he's  changed  mightily  in  appearance," 
thought  Mark,  as  he  looked  at  the  fellow.      "He 


54  LOST   ON   THE    MOON 

isn't  very  tall,  and  he  hasn't  any  black  mustache. 
But  of  course  he  may  have  shaved  that  off,  and  I 
suppose  in  the  dark,  and  when  one  is  in  a  hurry 
to  earn  a  quarter,  it's  hard  to  say  whether  a  man 
is  tall  or  short.  I  wonder  if  this  can  be  the  per- 
son we're  looking  for?" 

Mark  hardly  knew  what  to  do.  He  stood  in 
the  road,  undecided,  and  /airly  stared  at  the 
man,  who  had  left  the  porch,  and  was  walking 
down  the  wred-grown  path.  He  was  looking 
straight  at  Mark,  but  if  the  stranger  was  the  per- 
son who  had  written  the  note,  and  if  he  recog- 
nized the  lad,  he  gave  no  sign  to  that  effect. 

"Good  afternoon,"  said  the  man,  as  he  paused 
at  the  gap  in  the  front  wall,  where  once  a  gate 
had  been.     "Pleasant  day,  isn't  it." 

"Ye — yes,"  stammered  Mark,  wondering  what 
to  say  next. 

"Live  around  here?"  went  on  the  man. 

"Not  very  far  off." 

"Ah,  then  you  know  this  old  shack?" 

"Well,  I  don't  get  over  here  very  often.  Do 
you  live  here?"  ventured  Mark  boldly,  determin- 
ing to  do  some  questioning  on  his  own  account. 

"Me  live  here?"  cried  the  man,  as  if  indig- 
nant. "Well,  hardly!  I  was  just  passing,  and, 
happening  to  see  the  old  place,  and  having  a  fond- 
ness for  antiques,  I  stepped  in.     But  it  is  in  bad 


MARK   IS    CAPTURED  55 

shape.  I  should  say  tramps  make  it  their  hang- 
out." 

"It  has  that  name,"  said  Mark. 

There  was  a  pause  for  a  moment,  and  the  lad 
was  a  trifle  embarrassed.  The  man  was  gaz- 
ing boldly  at  him. 

"I  guess  I've  made  a  mistake,"  thought  Mark. 
"This  can't  be  the  man  we  want.  He  doesn't  live 
here,  and  he  doesn't  look  like  him.  I'd  better 
be  getting  back  to  meet  Jack." 

"Are  you  engaged  at  anything  in  particular?" 
questioned  the  man  taking  a  few  steps  nearer  the 
youth. 

"No,  I'm  not  working,  but  I  expect  to  take  a 
trip,  shortly,  with  some  friends  of  mine,"  an- 
swered Mark. 

"Ah,  is  that  so?"  and  there  was  polite  inquiry 
in  the  man's  voice.     "Are  you  going  far?" 

"Quite  a  distance."  Mark  wondered  what  the 
man  would  say  if  he  told  him  he  was  going  to 
the  moon. 

"I  wonder  if  you  would  do  me  a  favor?"  went 
on  the  man.  "As  I  was  passing  through  this  old 
house  I  saw,  on  one  of  the  outer  doors,  an  old- 
fashioned  knocker.  I  am  a  collector  of  an- 
tiques, and  I  would  very  much  like  to  have  that. 
But  I  need  help  in  getting  it  off.  I  do  not  intend 
to  steal  it,  but  if  it  is  left  here  some  tramp  may 


56  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

destroy  it,  and  that  would  be  too  bad.  I  intend 
to  remove  it,  and  then  hunt  up  the  owners  of  this 
place,  and  purchase  it  from  them." 

"It  will  be  hard  to  discover  who  are  the  own- 
ers," replied  Mark,  "as  the  title  is  in  dispute." 

"So  much  the  better  for  me.  Will  you  help 
me  remove  the  knocker?  I  will  pay  you  for  your 
time." 

Mark  hesitated.  He  did  not  like  the  man's 
manner,  and  there  was  a  shifty,  uneasy  look  about 
his  eyes.  Still  he  might  be  all  right.  But  Mark 
did  not  like  the  idea  of  going  into  the  old  house 
with  him  alone.  It  might  be  safe,  and,  again,  it 
might  not.  But  the  knocker  was  on  an  outside 
door.  There  could  be  on  harm  in  helping  him, 
as  long  as  it  was  outside.  The  man  saw  the  hesi- 
tation in  the  lad's  manner. 

"It  will  not  take  us  long,"  the  stranger  said. 
"I  want  you  to  help  me  pry  off  the  knocker,  as 
I  have  no  screw-driver  to  remove  it.  I  will  pay 
you  well." 

As  he  spoke  he  came  nearer  to  Mark,  and  the 
lad  noticed  that  the  man's  right  hand  was  held 
behind  his  back.  This  struck  Mark  as  rather 
suspiciousr  Suddenly  he  became  aware  of  a  pe- 
culiar odor  in  the  air — a  sweet,  sickish  odor.  He 
started  back  in  alarm,  all  his  former  suspicions 
aroused.     The  man  seemed  to  leap  toward  him. 


MARK   IS    CAPTURED  57 

"Look  out!"  suddenly  cried  the  fellow.  "Look 
behind  you!" 

Involuntarily  Mark  turned.  He  saw  nothing 
alarming.  The  next  instant  he  felt  himself 
grasped  in  the  strong  arms  of  the  man,  and  a 
cloth  that  smelled  strongly  of  the  strange,  sweetly 
sickish  odor  was  pressed  over  the  lad's  face. 

"Here!  Stop!  Let  me  go!  Help!  Help!" 
cried  Mark.  Then  his  voice  died  out.  He  felt 
weak  and  sick,  and  sank  back,  an  inert  mass  in 
the  man's  arms. 

"I  guess  I've  got  you  this  time,"  whispered  the 
fellow,  as  he  gazed  down  on  Mark's  white  face. 
"I'll  put  you  where  you  won't  get  away,  either," 
and,  picking  up  the  youth,  he  carried  him  a  pris- 
oner into  the  deserted  house. 


CHAPTER   VIII 

JACK  IS  PUZZLED 

Whistling  merrily,  with  his  mind  as  much  on 
the  big  field  of  diamonds  he  expected  to  discover 
on  the  moon,  as  it  was  on  anything  else,  Jack 
Darrow  crossed  over  the  meadows  toward  the 
telegraph  office. 

"By  Jinks!  It  certainly  will  be  great  to  fly 
through  space  once  more,"  he  mused.  "Of 
course  it  isn't  much  of  a  trip,  only  a  quarter  of  a 
million  miles  at  most,  but  it  will  be  a  little  outing 
for  us,  and  then  those  diamonds!" 

A  trip  of  a  quarter  of  a  million  miles  only  a 
little  outing!  But  then  what  can  be  expected  of 
lads  who  had  gone  to  Mars  and  back  again? 

Jack  lost  no  time  in  reaching  the  telegraph 
office,  where  he  left  the  message  to  be  sent,  urg- 
ing the  operator  to  "rush"  it,  which  that  official 
promised  to  do. 

"  'Twon't  be  no  great  hardship  on  me,  neither," 
he  said  with  a  cheerful  grin,  "seein'  as  how  this  is 
the  only  one  I've  had  to  send  to-day.  I'll  get  it 
right  off  for  you,  Jack." 

58 


JACK   IS    PUZZLED  59 

Jack  meant  to  hurry  back,  but,  just  as  he  was 
turning  out  of  the  main  village  street,  to  cut 
across  lots,  and  join  Mark  at  the  place  agreed 
upon,  Jack  saw  two  dogs  fighting.  It  was  with 
the  best  intentions  in  the  world  that  he  ran  to- 
ward them,  for  he  wanted  to  separate  them. 
However  a  man  was  ahead  of  him,  and  soon  had 
the  two  beasts  apart.  But  Jack  lingered  several 
moments  to  see  if  there  would  be  a  renewal  of  the 
hostilities.  There  wasn't,  and  he  hurried  on. 
In  a  short  time  he  was  within  sight  of  the  barn, 
where  his  chum  had  agreed  to  meet  him. 

"Mark!"  cried  Jack,  when  he  came  within 
hailing  distance. 

There  was  no  response. 

"Maybe  he's  hiding  to  fool  me,"  thought  the 
lad.      "I'll  give  him  another  call." 

Neither  was  there  a  reply  to  this  shout,  and 
Jack,  with  a  vague  feeling  of  fear  in  his  heart, 
hurried  forward,  climbed  the  fence  that  sepa- 
rated the  field  from  the  highway,  and  fairly  ran 
toward  the  barn. 

A  glance  sufficed  to  show  that  Mark  was  not 
in  sight,  and,  thinking  that  his  chum  might  be  on 
the  other  side,  Jack  went  around  the  structure. 

"Oh,  you  Mark!"  he  called.  "I'm  back! 
Let's  get  a  move  on  and  go  to  the  old  house." 

Silence  was  the  only  answer. 


60  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

"That's  queer,"  murmured  Jack,  when  he  had 
made  a  circuit  of  the  place,  and  had  seen  no  sight 
of  his  friend.  "I  wonder  if  anything  could  have 
happened  to  him?  Perhaps  he  went  inside,  and 
has  fallen  down  the  hay  mow.     I'll  take  a  look." 

He  made  a  thorough  inspection  of  the  ram- 
shackle old  structure,  but  there  was  no  evidence 
that  Mark  had  entered  it,  and  Jack  was  soon 
quite  assured  that  no  harm  had  befallen  his  friend 
in  there.     Then  a  sudden  thought  came  to  him. 

"Why,  of  course!"  he  exclaimed  aloud.  "I 
should  have  thought  of  that  before.  Mark  got 
tired  of  waiting,  and  went  on  to  the  Preakness 
house.  I  might  have  known.  I'll  go  on  and 
catch  up  to  him  there." 

Jack  had  reasoned  correctly,  but  he  could  not 
know  what  had  taken  place  with  only  the  old, 
grim,  deserted  mansion  for  a  witness.  With  a 
lighter  heart  he  set  off  down  the  road. 

It  did  not  take  him  long,  at  the  pace  he  kept 
up,  to  come  within  sight  of  the  old  gateway,  with 
the  creeper  twining  over  the  pillars.  Then  he 
caught  a  glimpse  of  the  house,  and  he  at  once 
slackened  his  footsteps. 

"No  use  rushing  into  this  thing,"  he  reasoned 
in  a  whisper.  "Mark  may  be  in  hiding,  taking 
an  observation  of  the  mysterious  man,  and  I  don't 


JACK   IS   PUZZLED  61 

want  to  spoil  it,  by  butting  in.  Guess  I'll  lie  low 
for  a  while,  and  see  what  develops." 

Crouching  down  beside  some  bushes  that  lined 
the  roadway  Jack  looked  toward  the  silent,  tum- 
bled-down  house  and  waited.  All  was  still.  Oc- 
casionally a  shutter  flapped  in  the  wind,  the  hinges 
creaking  dismally,  or  some  of  the  loose  window- 
panes  rattled  as  the  sash  was  blown  to  and  fro. 
It  was  not  a  pleasant  aspect,  and  as  the  afternoon 
was  waning,  and  the  sun  was  going  down,  while 
a  cool  wind  sprang  up,  Jack  was  anything  but 
comfortable  in  his  place  of  observation. 

And  the  one  objection  to  it  was  that  there  was 
nothing  to  observe.  Not  a  sign  of  life  was  to  be 
seen  about  the  place,  and  the  broken  windows,  like 
so  many  unblinking  eyes,  stared  out  on  the  fields 
and  road. 

"Oh  pshaw!"  exclaimed  Jack  at  length,  "I'm 
not  going  to  sit  here  this  way!  I'm  going  up  and 
take  a  look.  It  can't  bite  me,  and  if  that  man's 
in  there  I  can  give  him  some  sort  of  a  talk  that 
will  make  it  look  all  right.  I'm  going  closer. 
Maybe  Mark's  inside  there,  waiting  for  me, 
though  it's  queer  why  he  didn't  keep  his  agree- 
ment and  wait  for  me  at  the  barn.  Well,  here 
goes." 

Though  he  spoke  bravely,  it  was  not  without  a 


62  LOST  ON  THE  MOON 

little  feeling  of  apprehension  that  Jack  started 
toward  the  old  mansion.  He  kept  a  close  watch 
for  the  advent  of  any  person  or  persons  who 
might  be  in  the  house,  but,  when  he  reached  the 
front  porch,  and  had  seen  no  one,  he  felt  more 
at  ease. 

"Hello,  Mark!"  he  cried  boldly.  "Are  you  in- 
side?" 

He  paused  for  an  answer.    None  came. 

"This  is  getting  rather  strange,"  murmured 
Jack,  who  was  now  quite  puzzled  as  to  what  to 
make  of  the  whole  matter.  "Mark  must  be 
here,  yet  why  doesn't  he  answer  me?  Oh,  you 
Mark!"  he  shouted  at  the  top  of  his  voice. 

There  was  only  silence,  and,  after  waiting  a  few 
moments  Jack  made  up  his  mind  that  the  best 
plan  would  be  to  enter  the  house  and  look  around. 

He  made  a  hasty  search  through  the  lower 
rooms,  but  saw  no  sign  of  Mark.  It  was  the 
same  upstairs,  and  on  the  third  floor  there  was 
no  evidence  of  his  chum.  Jack  called  again,  but 
got  no  reply. 

"The  garret  next,  and  then  the  cellar,"  he  told 
himself,  and  these  two  places,  darker  and  more 
dismal  than  any  other  parts  of  the  old  mansion, 
were  soon  explored. 

"Well,  if  Mark  came  here  he's  not  here  now," 
thought  Jack,  "and  there's  no  use  in  my  staying 


JACK   IS   PUZZLED  63 

any  longer.  Maybe  something  happened  that  he 
had  to  go  back  home.  Perhaps  he's  trailing  the 
man.  We  should  have  made  up  some  plan  to  be 
followed  in  case  anything  like  that  happened." 

Deciding  that  the  best  thing  he  could  do  would 
be  to  go  back  home  Jack  came  out  of  the  old 
house.     As  he  did  so  he  gave  a  final  call: 

"Mark!  Oh,  you  Mark!  Are  you  anywhere 
about?" 

What  was  that?  Was  it  an  answer,  or  merely 
the  echo  of  his  own  voice?  Jack  started,  and 
then,  as  he  heard  another  sound,  he  said: 

"Only  the  wind  squeaking  a  shutter.  Mark 
isn't  here." 

If  Jack  had  only  known ! 

Through  the  quickly-gathering  darkness  Jack 
turned  his  steps  toward  home.  On  the  way  along 
the  country  road  he  kept  a  sharp  lookout  for  any 
sign  of  his  chum,  and,  also,  he  looked  to  see  if  he 
could  catch  a  glimpse  of  any  person  who  might 
answer  the  description  of  the  man  they  suspected 
of  tampering  with  the  Cardite  motor. 

But  the  road  was  deserted,  save  for  an  occa- 
sional farmer  urging  his  horses  along,  that  he 
might  the  more  quickly  get  home  to  supper. 

"It's  mighty  strange,"  mused  Jack,  as  he  kept 
on.  "I  don't  think  Mark  did  just  right,  and  yet, 
perhaps,  when  it's  all  explained,  he  may  have 


64  LOST   ON    THE   MOON 

good  reasons  for  what  he  did.  Maybe  I'm 
wrong  to  worry  about  him,  and,  just  as  likely  as 
not,  he's  safe  home,  wondering  what  kept  me. 
But  he  might  have  known  that  I'd  come  back  to 
the  barn  where  I  said  I'd  meet  him.  Of  course 
that  dog-fight  delayed  me  a  little,  but  not  much." 

It  was  quite  dark  when  Jack  reached  the  house 
where  he  and  his  chum  lived  with  the  two  pro- 
fessors. There  was  a  cheerful  light  glowing 
from  many  windows,  and  Jack  also  noticed  an  il- 
lumination in  the  shed  where  the  projectile  was 
housed. 

"Guess  they're  working  on  it,  to  get  it  in  shape 
for  the  trip,  sooner  than  they  expected,"  he 
mused. 

Jack  was  met  at  the  door  by  Washington 
White. 

"Hello,  Wash!"  greeted  the  lad. 

"Good  land  a'  massy!  Where  hab  yo'  been 
transmigatorying  yo'se'f  during  de  period  when 
the  conglomeration  of  carbohydrates  and  pro- 
toids  hab  been  projected  on  to  de  interplanetary 
plane  ob  de  rectangle?" 

"Do  you  mean  where  have  I  been  while  supper 
was  getting  ready?"  asked  Jack. 

"Dat's  'zackly  what  I  means,  Massa  Jack." 

"Then  why  don't  you  say  it?" 


JACK   IS   PUZZLED  65 

"I  done  did.  Dat's  what  I  done.  Supper's 
cold.     But  where  am  Massa  Mark?" 

"What!  Isn't  Mark  home?"  cried  Jack,  start- 
ing back  in  alarm. 

"No,  Massa  Jack,  we  ain't  seed  him  sence  yo' 
two  went  off  togedder.    Where  yo'  all  been?" 

"Mark  not  home!"  gasped  Mark.  "Where  is 
Professor  Henderson,  Wash?  I  must  speak  to 
him  at  once." 

"He  am  out  in  de  shed  wif  Massa  Roumann." 

With  fear  in  his  heart  Jack  dashed  out  toward 
the  big  shed. 

"Ain't  yo'  goin'  t'  hab  some  supper?"  called 
Washington. 

"I  don't  want  any  supper — yet,"  flung  back 
Jack  over  his  shoulder. 


CHAPTER  IX 

A  DARING  PLOT 

Mark  Sampson  lay  an  inert  mass  in  the  arms 
of  the  man  who  had  attacked  him.  Through  the 
sagging  door  of  the  old,  deserted  house  the  cap- 
tive lad  was  carried,  and  up  creaking  stairs. 

"I  guess  no  one  saw  me,"  whispered  the  man. 
"I'm  safe,  so  far,  and  I  can  work  my  scheme  to 
perfection.  Everything  turned  out  well  for  me. 
I  was  just  wondering  how  I  could  get  this  youth 
in  my  power,  and  he  fairly  walked  into  my  hands ! 
Now  to  keep  him  safe  until  I  can  take  his  place 
in  the  projectile,  and  have  my  revenge.  I  have 
waited  a  long  time  for  it,  but  it  has  come  at 
last!" 

Pausing  at  the  head  of  the  creaking  stairs  the 
man  looked  behind  him,  to  make  sure  that  he 
was  not  being  followed,  but  not  a  sound  broke 
the  stillness  of  the  old  house,  save  the  rattle  and 
bang  of  the  ruined  shutters. 

"I'm  safe!  Safe!"  exulted  the  man,  with  a 
cruel  chuckle.  "Now  to  bind  him,  and  hide  him 
in  the  secret  chamber." 

66 


A  DARING  PLOT  67 

He  laid  Mark  down  on  a  pile  of  bagging  in  a 
corner  of  a  room  at  the  head  of  the  stairs.  Then, 
still  glancing  behind  him,  as  if  fearful  of  being 
observed,  the  man  walked  over  to  a  mantlepiece, 
fumbled  about  a  bit  of  carving  that  adorned  the 
centre,  and  pressed  on  a  certain  spot.  A  mo- 
ment later  the  mantle  seemed  to  swing  out,  and 
there  was  revealed  a  secret  room,  the  existence 
of  which  would  never  have  been  suspected  by  the 
casual  observer. 

Taking  some  of  the  bags  from  the  pile  where 
the  unconscious  lad  was,  the  man  made  a  rude 
bed  in  the  secret  room.  Then  he  carried  Mark 
in,  and  placed  him  in  a  fairly  comfortable  posi- 
tion, first  taking  the  precaution,  however,  of  bind- 
ing his  hands  and  feet. 

"There,"  whispered  the  man,  when  he  had  fin- 
ished, "I  guess  you'll  not  get  away  in  a  hurry. 
Now  I'll  wait  until  dark,  and  then  I'll  give  you 
something  to  eat,  for  I  don't  want  you  to  starve. 
But  I  must  keep  in  hiding,  for,  very  likely,  there'll 
be  a  search  made  for  him.  Guess  I'd  better  stay 
here,  and  see  what  happens,"  and  the  mysteri- 
ous man  pressed  the  spring  that  sent  the  mantle 
back  into  place  again,  hiding  all  traces  of  the 
secret  room. 

"It's  a  good  thing  I  stumbled  upon  this  hid- 
ing place,"  he  said  to  himself.     "It  couldn't  be 


68  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

better  for  what  I  want.  Now  to  see  what  hap- 
pens next." 

He  did  not  have  long  to  wait,  for  in  a  short 
time  Jack,  as  we  have  seen,  appeared  on  the 
scene,  and  began  his  search.  At  the  sound  of  his 
voice,  calling  for  Mark,  the  man  started  in  his 
hiding  place,  and  glanced  uneasily  at  Mark. 

"He  may  hear,  and  wake  up,"  he  whispered. 

Jack  came  upstairs  in  the  deserted  house,  and 
continued  his  search  there,  calling  from  time  to 
time.  He  gave  one  loud  shout  at  the  head  of 
the  stairs,  and  the  very  thing  that  the  man  feared 
would  happen  came  to  pass. 

The  effect  of  the  drug  having  worn  off,  Mark 
stirred  uneasily,  and  started  up.  He  heard  Jack's 
cry,  and  uttered  a  half-articulate  answer.  In  an 
instant  the  man  was  at  his  side,  and  had  quickly 
gagged  him.  This  had  the  further  effect  of  awak- 
ening the  unfortunate  lad,  and  he  struggled  to 
loosen  his  bonds,  but  they  were  too  strongly  tied. 
He  endeavored  to  answer  Jack,  but  only  a  mean- 
ingless mumble  resulted,  for  the  gag  was  effective. 

"All  you  have  to  do  is  to  keep  quiet,"  urged 
the  man,  as  he  knelt  beside  Mark  in  the  darkness. 
"As  soon  as  your  chum  goes,  I'll  take  that  thing 
out  of  your  mouth,  and  give  you  something  to 
eat." 

Jack's  voice  died  away,  and  presently,  as  the 


JACK   IS    PUZZLED  69 

ears  of  the  man  told  him,  the  boy  left  the  old 
house.  Waiting  some  time,  to  make  sure  that  he 
would  not  return,  the  man  removed  the  knot  of 
rags  from  Mark's  mouth,  and  slightly  loosened 
his  bonds,  first  warning  him,  however,  that  if  he 
attempted  to  escape  he  would  be  harshly  dealt 
with. 

"But  what  right  have  you  to  keep  me  here?" 
demanded  the  youth.  "Who  are  you,  and  what 
have  I  done  to  you,  that  you  should  treat  me  this 
way?  Are  you  crazy?  Don't  you  know  that 
you  are  liable  to  arrest  for  this?" 

"No  one  can  arrest  me,"  boasted  the  fellow. 

"But  why  have  you  made  me  a  prisoner?"  de- 
manded Mark. 

"For  reasons  of  my  own.  You'll  see  very 
soon." 

"But  what  have  I  done  to  you?"  persisted  the 
lad.  "I  never  saw  you  before,  that  I  know  of, 
unless  you  are  the  man  who  sent  me  the  note,  and 
who  ran  when  my  chum  and  I  came  to  the  bridge 
to  meet  you." 

"I'm  the  man,"  was  the  answer,  with  a  chuckle. 

"Then  you  must  be  the  one  who  tried  to  wreck 
our  projectile,"  went  on  Mark. 

"Yes,  I  did  that,  and  now  I  am  sorry  for  it, 
for  I  have  thought  of  a  much  better  scheme  for 
getting  even,  and  having  my  revenge  on  you." 


70  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

"But  why  do  you  want  to  be  revenged  on  us?'*' 

"Because  of  what  you  have  done  I"  and  the 
man's  voice  took  on  an  ugly  tone. 

"But  what  did  we  do?"  begged  Mark. 

"You'll  know  soon  enough,"  was  the  answer, 
with  a  cunning  laugh,  and  then  Mark  was  sure 
he  had  to  deal  with  a  lunatic.  He  ceased  his 
struggles  to  loosen  the  bonds,  and  resolved  to 
meet  cunning  with  cunning.  He  would  bide  his 
time. 

"Will  you  promise  to  be  quiet,  and  not  kick 
up  a  fuss  if  I  get  you  something  to  eat?"  asked 
the  man. 

"Yes;  but  I'd  rather  have  a  drink  of  water 
first.    I  feel  sick." 

"Very  well,  you  shall  have  some  water.  I'll 
have  to  go  out  and  get  it,  but  I  must  first  blind- 
fold you,  so  that  you  will  not  discover  the  secret 
of  this  room." 

Mark  could  not  help  himself,  for  he  was  bound, 
and  when  the  man  had  tied  a  handkerchief  over 
his  eyes,  Mark  heard  his  captor  moving  about. 

Next  there  came  a  sound  as  of  some  heavy 
body,  or  object,  being  pushed  across  the  room. 
Mark  felt  a  draught  of  wind  on  his  face,  but  it 
ceased  instantly,  and  he  knew  that  he  was  alone. 
He  tried  to  work  the  bandage  from  over  his  eyes, 
and  he  endeavored  to  loosen  his  bonds,  for  he 


A   DARING   PLOT  71 

did  not  consider  that  this  violated  his  promise. 
But  it  was  of  no  effect. 

Presently  he  heard  the  moving,  shoving  sound 
again,  and  once  more  felt  the  wind  on  his  face. 
Then  he  heard  the  voice  of  his  captor  speaking. 

"Here  is  food  and  drink.  I'm  going  to  untie 
your  hands  so  you  can  eat,  but  mind,  no  fighting, 
for  I'm  a  desperate  man,  and  I  won't  stand  any 
nonsense!" 

He  fumbled  about  the  bonds,  and  soon  Mark 
was  free  to  stand  up  and  use  his  hands.  The 
bandage  was  taken  from  his  eyes,  and  he  was 
able  to  peer  about  his  prison  by  the  light  of  a 
candle  which  his  captor  had  brought. 

Mark's  first  glance  was  at  the  man.  He  was 
the  same  one  who  had  emerged  from  the  house 
to  attack  and  drug  him,  but  as  for  recognizing 
in  him  the  person  who  had  been  at  the  bridge,  this 
was  impossible.  As  far  as  Mark  could  tell  he 
had  never  seen  the  man  before,  nor  did  he  answer 
the  description  given  by  Dick  Johnson. 

There  was  little  danger  that  Mark  would  at- 
tempt violence.  He  was  too  weak,  and  his  jailer 
seemed  a  powerful  fellow.  Then,  too,  the  lad 
felt  ill  from  the  effects  of  the  drug. 

"Drink  some  water,  and  eat  a  bit,  and  you'll 
feel  better,"  urged  the  man,  which  advice  Mark 
followed,  though  his  appetite  was  not  of  the  best, 


12  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

and  he  was  much  worried  as  to  what  his  friends 
would  think  about  his  strange  disappearance. 

"What  do  you  intend  to  do  with  me?"  asked 
Mark,  when  he  felt  a  little  better  from  the  effects 
of  the  food  and  drink.  The  man  had  sat  on  an 
old  soap  box,  and  watched  his  captive  while  he 
ate. 

"Do  with  you?  Why,  I'm  going  to  keep  you 
here  until  your  friends  have  left  in  the  projectile," 
was  the  answer. 

"But  why  don't  you  want  me  to  go  with  them?" 

"Oh,  I  have  my  reasons.  You'll  find  out  soon 
enough.     You  can't  go,  that's  all." 

"But  why  do  you  take  such  an  interest  in  me? 
Why  didn't  you  capture  my  chum  Jack,  too,  while 
you  were  about  it?" 

"Two  reasons.  One  was  that  Jack  wouldn't 
answer  my  purpose,  and  the  other  was  that  I 
didn't  have  a  chance  to  get  him.  You  walked 
right  into  my  trap,  just  when  I  was  doing  my 
best  to  think  of  another  plan  to  get  hold  of  you, 
since  my  first  one  failed." 

"But  what  is  your  purpose?"  insisted  the  lad. 
"What  do  you  want  with  me  ?"  He  thought  per- 
haps if  he  questioned  the  man  closely  enough  he 
might  discover  something  that  would  give  him 
a  clew,  or  might  aid  him  to  escape. 

"You'll  learn  soon  enough,"  was  the  answer. 


A   DARING    PLOT  73 

"Will  you  tell  me  your  name?"  asked  Mark 
quietly. 

"No — why  should  I?"  was  the  quick  reply.  "If 
I  told  you  who  I  was  you  would  at  once  know  why 
I  have  made  you  a  captive  here.  No ;  you  shall 
hear  all  in  good  time,  but  that  will  not  be  until 
I  am  ready. 

"Now,"  went  on  his  captor,  after  a  period  of 
silence,  "I  shall  have  to  bind  and  blindfold  you 
again." 

"Why?"  asked  Mark,  in  some  alarm. 

"Because  I  don't  want  you  to  see  how  I  get  in 
and  out  of  this  room,  and  that's  the  only  way  I 
can  guard  my  secret.  Though  if  you  promise  not 
to  remove  the  bandage  from  your  eyes  within 
five  minutes  from  the  time  I  leave  you,  I  will  not 
have  to  tie  your  hands  and  feet.  After  I  am 
gone  you  may  take  the  handkerchief  off,  but 
when  you  hear  me  rap  on  the  wall,  ready  to  come 
back  again,  you  must  once  more  blindfold  your- 
self.   Otherwise  I  shall  have  to  tie  you  up." 

Mark  considered  a  moment.  It  was  not  pleas- 
ant to  be  tied  with  the  cruel  ropes,  and  he  felt 
that  in  time  he  could  penetrate  the  mystery  of  how 
the  room  opened,  even  if  he  did  not  see  his  jailer 
enter  and  leave. 

"I  promise,"  he  said  finally. 

"That's   good.      It  simplifies  matters.     Now 


74  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

you  can  blindfold  yourself,  and  I  trust  to  your 
honor.  You  may  remove  the  bandage  in  five 
minutes,  but  when  you  hear  me  knock,  you  must 
replace  it  until  I  am  in  the  apartment.  Then 
you  can  take  it  off  again." 

There  was  little  choice  but  to  obey,  and  Mark 
tied  the  handkerchief  over  his  eyes.  He  listened 
intently,  heard  the  man  moving  about  the  room, 
felt  the  wind  on  his  cheeks,  and  then  came  silence. 

He  waited  until  he  thought  five  minutes  had 
passed,  and  then  took  off  the  bandage.  The  can- 
dle was  burning  where  the  man  had  set  it,  but  the 
fellow  himself  was  gone.  He  had  taken  with 
him  the  broken  dishes,  and  remains  of  the  food 
Mark  had  not  eaten.  The  glass  and  a  pitcher 
of  water  stood  on  a  broken  table,  and  Mark  took 
a  big  drink. 

"Now  to  see  if  I  can't  get  out  of  this  place,"  he 
murmured  to  himself. 

Mark  had  invented  many  pieces  of  apparatus, 
and  he  was  considered  a  good  mechanician.  Con- 
sequently he  went  about  his  task  in  a  systematic 
manner.  He  examined  the  walls  carefully  by  the 
candle,  which  he  carried  in  his  hand,  but  no  open- 
ing was  apparent. 

"Of  course,  there  must  be  some  secret  spring 
to  press,"  said  the  lad.  "That's  how  he  gets  in 
and  out.    A  section  of  the  wall  moves,  but  where 


A   DARING   PLOT  75 

it  is  I  can't  see.  It  will  take  time.  I  must  look 
at  every  inch." 

He  was  in  the  midst  of  his  investigations  when 
there  sounded  on  the  wall  back  of  him  three  raps. 

"Ha !  At  least,  that  tells  me  where  the  open- 
ing is,"  thought  the  lad.  "It's  on  that  side,  but 
now  I  have  to  put  that  blamed  bandage  on.  Well, 
I  may  be  able  to  escape  yet." 

True  to  his  promise,  he  blindfolded  himself 
well,  and  presently  he  heard  a  noise,  felt  a 
draught  of  air,  and  he  knew  his  captor  was  in  the 
room. 

"You  can  now  take  off  the  handkerchief,"  said 
the  man.  "I  have  brought  you  some  more  bags 
for  bed  clothing.  It  isn't  much,  but  it  is  all  I 
have.    They  will  keep  you  warm  to-night." 

"Are  you  going  to  imprison  me  over  night?" 
asked  Mark. 

"Yes,  and  I'll  stay  here  with  you.  No  one  can 
find  us  here.  The  secret  room  is  well  hidden. 
But  first  I  have  another  matter  that  needs  atten- 
tion.    I  am  going  to  ask  you  a  question." 

"What?"  asked  the  captive,  wondering  what 
strange  request  the  mentally  unbalanced  man 
would  make  now. 

The  man  leaned  forward  and  whispered  some- 
thing in  Mark's  ear,  as  if  he  was  afraid  the  very 
walls  would  hear. 


76  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

"I'll  not  do  it!"  cried  the  youth.  "I'll  never 
aid  you  to  deceive  my  friends,  for  that  is  your 
object.    I'll  never  do  it!" 

"Then  I  shall  have  to  use  force,"  was  the  de- 
termined response.    "You  may  take  your  choice!" 

Poor  Mark  did  not  know  what  to  do,  yet  there 
was  little  he  could  choose  between.  The  man  had 
him  in  his  power,  yet  the  lad  was  terribly  afraid 
of  the  result  of  the  daring  scheme  which  he  knew 
was  in  the  mind  of  the  lunatic,  for  such  he  be- 
lieved the  man  to  be. 

"Will  you  not  give  up  this  plan?"  begged 
Mark.  "I  know  Professor  Henderson  will  pay 
you  any  sum  in  reason  to  let  me  go.  You  can  be- 
come a  rich  man." 

"I  don't  want  riches — I  want  revenge !"  ex- 
claimed the  man.  And  he  glared  at  Mark,  while 
throughout  the  dismal,  deserted  house  there 
sounded  the  rattle  and  bang  of  the  flapping 
shutters. 


CHAPTER    X 

mark's  strange  actions 

Jack  Darrow  fairly  burst  into  the  big  shed 
where  the  two  scientists  were  at  work  over  the 
ruined  motor.  They  looked  up  at  his  excitable  en- 
trance, and  Mr.  Henderson  called  out: 

"Why,  Jack,  what's  the  matter?" 

"Quite  a  lot,  I'm  afraid,"  answered  the  lad, 
and  there  was  that  in  his  voice  which  alarmed 
the  professors. 

"What  do  you  mean?"  inquired  Mr.  Roumann, 
laying  aside  some  of  the  damaged  motor  plates. 

"Mark's  gone!"  gasped  Jack. 

"Gone!     Where?"  exclaimed  Mr.  Henderson. 

"I  don't  know,  but  he  went  to  the  deserted 
house,  where  we  thought  the  mysterious  man  was 
hiding,  and  since  then  I  can't  find  him." 

Then  the  frightened  lad  proceeded  to  explain 
what  he  and  Mark  had  undertaken,  and  the  out- 
come of  it;  how  his  chum  had  failed  to  meet  him 
at  the  rendezvous,  and  how  Jack  had  searched 
through  the  old  house  without  result. 

77 


78  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

"There's  but  one  thing  to  do,"  declared  Pro- 
fessor Henderson,  when  he  had  listened  to  the 
story.  "We  must  go  back  there  and  make  a  more 
thorough  search." 

"What — to-night?"  exclaimed  the  German. 

"Surely.  Why  not?  We  can't  leave  Mark 
there  all  alone.  He  may  be  hurt,  or  in  trouble." 
"That's  what  I  think,"  said  Jack.  "I'll  tell 
Washington  and  Andy,  and  we'll  go  back  and 
hunt  for  him.  Poor  Mark!  If  he  had  only 
waited  for  me,  perhaps  this  would  never  have 
happened,  and  if  I  hadn't  stopped  at  the  dog-fight 
maybe  Mark  would  have  waited  for  me.  Well, 
it's  too  late  to  worry  about  that  now.  The  thing 
is  to  find  him,  and  I  guess  we  can." 

Jack  would  not  stop  longer  than  to  snatch  a 
hasty  bite  of  supper  before  he  joined  the  search? 
ing  party.  Washington  and  he  carried  lanterns, 
while  Andy  Sudds  had  his  trusty  rifle,  and  the  two 
professors  brought  up  in  the  rear,  armed  with 
stout  clubs,  for  Jack's  account  of  the  affair  made 
them  think  that  perhaps  they  might  have  to  deal 
with  a  violent  man. 

"Hadn't  you  better  notify  the  police?"  sug- 
gested Andy.  "A  couple  of  constables  would  be 
some  help." 

"Not  very  much,"  declared  Jack.  "Besides, 
there  are  only  two  in  Bayside,  and  it's  hard  to  lo- 


MARK'S    STRANGE   ACTIONS  79 

cate  either  one  when  you  want  them.  I  guess  we 
can  manage  alone." 

"Yes,  I  would  rather  not  notify  the  police  if  it 
can  be  avoided,"  said  Professor  Henderson. 

The  searching  party  hurried  along  the  country 
highway,  which  was  now  deserted,  as  it  was  quite 
dark.  Their  lanterns  flashed  from  side  to  side, 
but  they  had  no  hope  of  getting  any  trace  of  Mark 
until  they  came  to  the  old  barn,  at  least,  though 
Jack  wished  several  times  that  he  might  meet  his 
chum  running  toward  them  along  the  road. 

They  reached  the  barn  in  due  course,  and  while 
Washington,  Jack  and  Andy  began  a  search  of  it, 
the  two  scientists  went  up  to  the  house  of  the  man 
who  owned  it  and  enlisted  his  aid.  They  asked 
him  if  he  had  seen  Mark  around  that  afternoon, 
but  the  farmer  had  not. 

"But  me  an'  my  hired  man'll  come  out  and  help 
you  hunt  through  the  barn,"  he  said.  "I  remem- 
ber once,  when  I  was  a  lad,  that  my  brother  fell 
off  the  hay  mow  and  lay  unconscious  in  a  manger 
for  five  hours  before  we  found  him.  Maybe  that's 
what's  happened  to  this  young  man,"  suggested 
Mr.  Hampton,  which  was  the  farmer's  name. 

"I  looked  around  pretty  well  this  afternoon," 
explained  Jack,  when  the  farmer  and  his  man  had 
reached  the  barn,  "but,  of  course,  I  didn't  know 
all  the  nooks  and  corners." 


8o  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

A  thorough  search  of  the  structure,  however, 
failed  to  reveal  the  presence  of  Mark,  and  then 
the  farmer  volunteered  to  accompany  the  party 
on  to  the  old  Preakness  house.  His  offer  was  re- 
ceived with  thanks,  and,  bringing  two  more  lan- 
terns with  them,  Mr.  Hampton  and  his  man 
added  considerable  to  the  illumination. 

They  went  through  the  old  mansion  from  gar- 
ret to  cellar,  and  called  repeatedly,  but  there  was 
no  answer.  And  good  reason,  for  in  the  secret 
room,  with  his  captive,  the  mysterious  man  heard 
the  first  approach  of  the  searching  party,  and  he 
quickly  bound  Mark  and  gagged  him,  so  that  he 
could  not  answer. 

There  was  nothing  to  do  but  to  leave,  and  it 
was  with  sad  hearts  that  Jack  and  his  friends  de- 
parted, their  search  having  been  unavailing.  They 
turned  toward  home,  which  they  reached  quite 
late,  but  found  nothing  disturbed. 

No  one  in  Professor  Henderson's  house  slept 
much  that  night,  and  in  the  morning  pale  and  wan 
faces  looked  at  each  other,  all  asking  the  same 
question: 

"Where  is  Mark?" 

But  no  one  could  answer. 

They  talked  over  the  matter,  and  decided  that 
Jack,  with  Andy  and  Washington,  should  form 
a  searching  party  to  scour  the  surrounding  coun- 


MARK'S    STRANGE   ACTIONS  81 

try.  The  two  scientists  were  too  old  for  such 
work,  and,  as  the  aid  of  the  police  was  not  de- 
sired, it  was  felt  that  the  three  could  do  all  that 
was  necessary. 

Accordingly,  while  Professor  Henderson  and 
his  German  friend  went  to  work  on  the  damaged 
motor,  which  did  not  need  as  much  repairing  as  at 
first  was  thought  to  put  it  in  working  shape  again, 
Jack  and  the  two  men  started  off  to  hunt  for 
Mark. 

They  were  gone  all  that  day,  returning  very 
much  discouraged  at  dusk,  saying  that  they  could 
get  no  trace  of  him. 

"I  don't  see  where  he  can  be!"  exclaimed  Jack 
desperately,  for,  though  the  two  lads  were  not  re- 
lated, they  had  been  friends  so  long,  and  had 
shared  so  many  pleasures  and  dangers  together, 
that  they  were  like  brothers.  "You  won't  start 
for  the  moon  until  you  find  him,  will  you,  Pro- 
fessor?" asked  Jack. 

"No,  indeed;  though  we  could  start  to-morrow 
if  he  was  here,"  replied  the  aged  scientist.  "The 
special  tools  came  to-day,  and  the  motor  has  been 
repaired.  We  have  tested  it,  and  the  Cardite 
power  works  even  better  than  did  the  Etherium 
apparatus." 

"Then  we  can  start  as  soon  as  Mark  is  found?" 
asked  Andy  Sudds. 


82  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

"Yes,  for  everything  has  been  put  inside  the 
projectile,  and  all  that  remains  is  to  haul  it  out 
of  the  shed,  point  it  at  the  moon,  and  start  the 
motor." 

"Then  I  guess  I'll  give  my  gun  a  final  cleaning, 
and  get  ready.  There  may  be  good  hunting  on 
the  moon,"  said  the  old  hunter. 

Jack  was  tired  from  his  long  tramp  that  day, 
searching  for  his  missing  chum,  but  before  he 
went  to  bed  he  wanted  to  go  out  and  take  a  look 
at  the  big  projectile,  which  was  now  ready  to  start 
for  the  moon. 

As  he  turned  around  the  corner  of  the  immense 
shed  to  enter  the  door,  he  was  startled  by  seeing 
a  figure  coming  toward  him.  Jack  started,  rubbed 
his  eyes,  and  peered  again. 

"Is  it  possible?  Can  I  be  mistaken?"  he  whis- 
pered. 

The  figure  came  nearer.  Jack,  who  had  come 
to  a  halt,  broke  into  a  run. 

"Mark!  Mark!"  he  cried  joyously.  "Oh, 
you've  come  back!    Where  have  you  been?" 

Jack  was  about  to  clasp  his  chum  in  his  arms 
when  he  saw  that  Mark's  arm  was  in  a  sling,  and 
that  his  face  was  all  bandaged  up,  so  that  scarcely 
any  of  his  features  showed.  Had  it  not  been  for 
the  clothes,  and  a  certain  stoutness  of  which  Mark 


MARK'S    STRANGE   ACTIONS  83 

never  could  seem  to  get  rid,  Jack  would  scarcely 
have  known  his  friend. 

"Why,  Mark,  what  happened?"  cried  Jack. 
"Have  you  met  with  an  accident?  Where  have 
you  been?  In  a  hospital?  What  became  of  you? 
Why  didn't  you  wait  for  me?" 

"I  can't  answer  all  those  questions  at  once," 
Was  the  reply,  and  Jack  thought  Mark's  voice  was 
curiously  muffled  and  hoarse,  entirely  unlike  his 
usual  tones.  But  he  ascribed  that  to  the  bandages 
around  the  mouth. 

"Well,  answer  one  at  a  time  then,"  said  Jack, 
and  there  was  an  undefinable,  strange  air  about 
his  chum  which  cooled  Jack's  first  impulse  of  glad- 
ness. "Whatever  happened  to  you,  Mark?  Are 
you  hurt?" 

"I  was — yes,"  came  the  reply,  in  short,  jerky 
tones.  "I  had  an  accident,  and  I've  been  in  a  hos- 
pital. That's  why  I  couldn't  send  you  word.  But 
I'm  all  right  now.  When  does  the  projectile 
start?" 

"To-morrow,  now  that  you're  here.  But  tell 
me  more  about  it.    Where  were  you  hurt?" 

"On  my  head  and  arm." 

"No;  I  mean  where  did  the  accident  occur?" 

"Oh,  in  the  old  house  where  I  went  to — to  look 
for  that  man." 

"Did  you  find  him?"  asked  Jack  eagerly. 


84  LOST   ON    THE   MOON 

"No.     He's  not  there  now." 

"Well,  never  mind.  We  won't  bother  about 
him.  Come  on  to  the  house.  My,  but  I'm  glad 
to  see  you  again!    And  so  will  the  others  be." 

In  his  enthusiasm  at  seeing  his  chum  again  Jack 
wanted  to  hug  him.  He  approached  Mark,  but 
the  latter  cried  out: 

"Look  out!     Don't  come  too  close!" 

"Why  not?     Have  you  caught  some  disease?" 

"No,  but  you  might  hurt  my  broken  arm!" 

"Oh,  is  it  broken?  That's  tough  luck.  Did 
you  fall?" 

"Yes — in  the  old  house.     I  fell  down  stairs." 

"And  your  head  is  all  bandaged  up,  too,"  went 
on  Jack,  trying  to  peer  into  his  friend's  face 
through  the  roll  of  bandages. 

"Look  out!  Don't  come  too  near!"  again 
warned  the  other.  "You  might  jostle  against  me, 
and  knock  off  some  of  the  bandages." 

"Did  you  lose  some  of  your  teeth,  the  reason 
your  voice  sounds  so  funny?"  asked  Jack. 

"Yes,  I  did  knock  out  a  few  when  I  tumbled. 
But  don't  bother  about  me.  I'll  be  all  right  soon. 
Let's  go  in  the  house.    I  want  to  go  to  bed." 

"But  they'll  all  want  to  see  you,  and  hear  about 
the  accident,  Mark,"  insisted  Jack.  "My,  but 
we've  been  all  worked  up  about  you.  How  did 
you  happen  to  be  taken  to  a  hospital?" 


MARK'S    STRANGE   ACTIONS  85 

"A  farmer  came  along,  and  I  hailed  him.  Then 
I  lost  consciousness,  and  couldn't  let  you  know 
where  I  was.  But  never  mind  the  details.  I'm 
anxious  to  get  started  on  the  trip  to  the  moon. 
Couldn't  we  start  to-night?" 

"I  don't  believe  so.  You  need  rest.  But  come 
on  in  the  house."  Then  Jack  hurried  on  ahead, 
calling:    "Mark's  found!     Mark  is  back!" 

His  cries  brought  all  of  the  others  out  on  the 
porch,  and  at  first  they  could  scarcely  believe  the 
good  news,  but  soon  Jack  and  the  new  arrival 
came  in  sight.  As  Jack  had  been,  the  two  pro- 
fessors and  the  others  were  startled  when  they 
saw  how  Mark  was  bundled  up  in  bandages. 

"He  fell  down  stairs,"  explained  Jack. 

"Come  over  here  where  it's  light,  so  I  can  see 
you,"  suggested  Professor  Henderson.  "Perhaps 
some  of  the  bandages  have  slipped  off  since  you 
came  from  the  hospital.  Why  did  you  come 
alone?  Why  didn't  you  send  us  word  where  you 
were  as  soon  as  you  were  conscious,  and  we  would 
have  come  for  you." 

"Oh,  I  didn't  want  to  bother  you,"  explained 
the  bundled-up  figure.  "I  managed  to  walk  it  all 
right." 

"But  your  injuries  may  need  attention,"  insisted 
Mr.  Henderson.  "I  know  something  about  doc- 
toring.    Come  here  where  I  can  see." 


86  LOST  ON  THE  MOON 

"No— no — the — light  hurts  my  eyes,"  was  the 
hasty  reply.  "I  guess  I'll  go  to  bed,  so  as  to  be 
all  ready  to  start  in  the  morning.  Why  don't  you 
leave  for  the  moon  to-night,  professor?" 

"There  are  still  a  few  little  details  to  look  after. 
But  are  you  sure  you  are  well  enough  to  go  with 
us?  We  may  meet  with  hardships  up  on  the 
moon." 

"Oh,  I'm  all  ready  to  go,"  was  the  answer.  "I'd 
start  to-night  if  I  could.  But  now  I  must  get  to 
bed." 

"Don't  you  want  supper?"  asked  Jack. 

"No,  I  had  some  just  before  I  left  the  hos- 
pital." 

"What  hospital  was  it?"  inquired  Andy  Sudds. 
"I  was  in  one  once,  and  I  didn't  like  it.  There 
wa'nt  enough  air  for  me." 

"I  forget  the  name  of  the  place,"  came  the  re- 
ply.    "I  can't  think  clearly.     I  need  sleep." 

The  newcomer  kept  in  the  shadows  of  the 
room,  as  if  the  light  hurt  his  eyes,  and  appeared 
restless  and  ill  at  ease.  With  the  hand  that  was 
not  in  a  sling  he  pulled  the  bandages  closer  about 
his  face. 

"Can't  you  tell  us  more  about  what  happened?" 
asked  Jack,  for  Mark  was  not  usually  so  reticent, 
and  his  chum  noticed  it. 

"There  isn't  much  to  tell,"  was  the  response.  "I 


MARK'S    STRANGE  ACTIONS  87 

went  to  the  old  house,  and  I  was  looking  around 
when  I  happened  to  tumble  down  stairs.  I  must 
have  been  knocked  unconscious,  but  when  I  came 
to  I  crawled  outside.  A  farmer  was  driving  past, 
and  I  asked  him  to  take  me  to  a  hospital." 

"Why  didn't  you  come  home?"  asked  Mr. 
Henderson. 

"Oh,  I  didn't  want  to  make  any  trouble  and  de- 
lay work  on  the  projectile.  I  figured  that  I  could 
be  with  you  in  a  few  hours,  and  you  wouldn't 
worry.  But  they  insisted  that  I  must  stay  in  the 
hospital  when  they  got  me  there.  Then  I  lost  con- 
sciousness again,  and  couldn't  manage  to  let  you 
know  where  I  was.    But  I'm  all  right  now." 

"Why  didn't  you  wait  for  me  at  the  barn,  when 
I  went  to  send  the  telegram,  as  you  promised  you 
would?"  asked  Jack,  who  felt  a  little  hurt  at  his 
chum's  neglect. 

"Did  I  promise  to  wait  for  you  at  some  barn?" 

"Yes ;  don't  you  remember?"  and  Jack  gazed  at 
the  bandaged  figure  in  surprise. 

"Oh,  yes — I — I  guess  I  do.  But  I  want  to  go 
to  bed  now,"  and  pulling  the  cloths  closer  about 
his  face  the  injured  one  started  from  the  apart- 
ment. 

"Here.  That's  not  the  way  up  to  your  room. 
The  stairs  are  over  here,"  called  Jack,  for  he  saw 
the  newcomer  taking  the  wrong  direction. 


88  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

"Oh,  yes.  Guess  my  mind  must  be  wandering," 
and  with  an  uneasy  laugh  the  injured  one  turned 
about.  They  heard  him  going  up  stairs,  and  a 
little  later  Jack  followed.  He  found  that  Mark's 
room  was  not  occupied. 

"Hi,  Mark!  Where  are  you?"  he  called,  in 
some  alarm. 

"Here,"  was  the  answer,  and  the  voice  came 
from  Jack's  own  apartment. 

"Well,  you're  in  the  wrong  bunk." 

"Am  I  ?  Well,  I  must  have  made  another  mis- 
take. My  head  can't  be  right,"  and  with  that  the 
other  came  out  and  hastily  went  into  the  adjoining 
apartment. 

For  a  moment  Jack  stood  in  the  hall.  He 
looked  at  the  door  that  had  closed  behind  the 
bandaged  figure. 

"There's  something  wrong,"  said  Jack  in  a  low 
voice.  "How  strange  Mark  acts !  I  wonder  what 
can  be  the  matter?" 


CHAPTER  XI 

READY     FOR     THE     MOON 

There  were  busy  times  for  the  moon-voyagcrs 
the  next  day.  They  were  up  early,  for  at  the  last 
moment  many  little  details  needed  to  be  settled. 
The  Cardite  motor  had  been  thoroughly  repaired, 
for  the  damage  caused  by  the  unknown  enemy  had 
done  no  permanent  harm. 

When  the  injured  one  appeared  the  bandage 
on  his  head  seemed  larger  than  ever,  and  his  fea- 
tures were  almost  hidden.  He  still  wore  his  arm 
in  a  sling. 

"Well,  how  do  you  feel?"  asked  Jack,  looking 
narrowly  at  the  figure.     He  could  not  get  rid  of 
a  suspicion  that  something  was  wrong  with  Mark. 
"Oh,  I'm  feeling  pretty  fair,"  was  the  mum- 
bled answer.     "I  didn't  sleep  much,  though." 

"Well,  take  care  of  yourself,"  advised  Jack. 
"We  are  about  ready  to  start.  We'll  get  off  about 
noon,  Professor  Henderson  says.  Don't  try  to  do 
anything  and  injure  your  broken  arm.  You  cer- 
tainly had  a  tough  time  of  it." 

89 


90  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

"Yes,  I  guess  I  did.  I  can't  do  much  to  help 
you." 

"You  don't  need  to.  We're  all  but  finished. 
Just  hang  around  and  watch  me  work.  There 
isn't  much  to  do." 

But  though  Jack  gave  an  invitation  to  remain 
near  him,  the  other  seemed  to  prefer  being  off  by 
himself.  He  wandered  in  and  out  of  the  projec- 
tile, now  and  then  helping  Andy  or  Washington 
to  carry  light  objects  into  the  Annihilator.  But 
all  the  while  he  was  careful  not  to  disturb  the 
bandage  on  his  face,  and  several  times  he  stopped 
to  readjust  it.  Nor  did  he  talk  much,  which  Jack 
ascribed  to  his  statement  that  his  teeth  hurt  him. 
And  when  the  bandaged  figure  did  speak,  it  was  in 
mumbling  tones,  very  different  from  Mark's  usu- 
ally cheerful  ones. 

"Well,"  remarked  Professor  Roumann,  after 
a  final  inspection  of  the  big  Cardite  motor — the 
one  that  was  to  be  depended  on  to  carry  them  to 
the  moon — "I  think  we  are  about  ready  to  leave 
this  earth.  How  about  it,  Professor  Hender- 
son?" 

"Yes,  I  think  so.  Have  you  made  any  calcula- 
tion as  to  speed?" 

"Yes,  we  will  not  have  to  move  nearly  as  fast 
as  we  did  when  we  went  to  Mars.  We  only  have 
to  cover  a  quarter  of  a  million  of  miles  at  the  most, 


READY   FOR   THE   MOON  91 

tfuid  probably  less  than  that.  The  motor  will  send 
us  along  at  the  rate  of  about  a  mile  a  second, 
which  is  three  thousand  six  hundred  miles  an  hour, 
or  eighty-six  thousand  four  hundred  miles  a  day. 
At  that  rate  we  would  be  at  the  moon  in  less  than 
three  days. 

"But  I  don't  want  to  travel  as  fast  as  that,"  the 
German  went  on.  "I  want  time  to  make  some  sci- 
entific observations  on  the  way,  and  so  I  have  re- 
duced the  speed  of  the  Cardite  motor  by  half, 
though  should  we  need  to  hasten  our  trip  we  can 
do  so." 

"Then  we'll  be  about  a  week  on  the  way?" 
asked  Jack. 

"About  that,  yes,"  assented  Mr.  Roumann. 

"And  could  we  go  farther  than  to  the  moon  if 
we  wanted  to?"  inquired  the  bandaged  figure 
mumblingly. 

"Farther?  What  do  you  mean?"  asked  Pro- 
fessor Henderson  quickly. 

"I  mean  could  we  go  to  Mars  if  we  wanted  to?" 

"You  don't  mean  to  say  you  want  to  go  back 
there,  and  run  the  chance  of  being  attacked  by  the 
savage  Martians,  do  you?"  asked  Jack. 

"No,  I  was  only  asking,"  and  the  other  seemed 
confused. 

"Well,  of  course,  we  could  go  there,  as  we  have 


92  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

plenty  of  supplies  and  enough  of  the  Cardite," 
said  Mr.  Roumann.  "But  I  think  the  moon  will 
be  the  limit  of  our  trip  this  time." 

The  work  went  on,  the  last  things  to  be  put 
aboard  the  projectile  being  a  number  of  scientific 
instruments.  The  injured  one  wandered  in  and 
out,  now  being  in  the  house  and  again  in  the  big 
shed.  He  seemed  restless  and  ill  at  ease,  and  fre- 
quently he  walked  to  the  front  gate  and  gazed 
down  the  road. 

"You  seem  to  be  looking  for  some  one,"  spoke 
Jack.  "Are  you  expecting  your  girl  to  come  along 
and  bid  you  good-by,  Mark?" 

"Who — me?  No,  I — I  was  just  looking  to 
see  if — if  it  was  going  to  rain." 

"Rain?  Well,  rain  won't  make  much  difference 
to  us  soon.  We  will  be  outside  of  the  earth's  at- 
mosphere in  a  jiffy  after  we  have  started,  and 
then  rain  won't  worry  us.  Is  your  stateroom  all 
fixed  up?" 

"No,  I  didn't  think  of  that.  Guess  I'd  better 
look  after  it." 

The  two  started  together  for  the  projectile. 
The  stout  one  entered  first,  and  made  his  way 
through  the  engine  room  and  main  cabin  to  the 
compartment  off  which  the  staterooms  opened. 
He  entered  one. 


READY   FOR    THE    MOON  93 

"Here,  that's  not  yours,"  cried  Jack.  "That's 
where  Professor  Henderson  sleeps.  Yours  is 
next  to  mine." 

"That's  right;  I  forgot,"  mumbled  the  other. 
"I  must  be  getting  absent  minded  since  my  acci- 
dent. But  I'll  be  all  right  soon.  I'll  get  my  room 
to  rights,  and  then  probably  we'll  start." 

"I  guess  so,"  answered  Jack,  but  he  shook  his 
head  as  he  gazed  after  his  chum.  "Mark  has  cer- 
tainly changed,"  he  murmured.  "I  wish  he'd  take 
those  bandages  off,  so  I  could  get  a  look  at  his 
face." 

The  last  details  were  completed.  The  big  An-* 
nihilator  had  been  run  out  on  trucks  into  the  yard 
surrounding  the  shed,  ready  to  be  hurled  through 
the  air.  The  shop,  shed  and  house  had  been  locked 
up  and  given  in  charge  of  a  caretaker,  who  would 
remain  on  guard  until  our  friends  returned. 

"Are  we  all  ready?"  asked  Professor  Hender- 
son, as  he  stood  ready  to  close  the  main  entrance 
door  and  seal  it  hermetically. 

"All  ready,  I  guess,"  answered  Jack.  The 
stout  one  had  gone  to  his  stateroom,  where  he 
could  be  heard  moving  about. 

"I'm  ready,"  announced  Professor  Roumann. 
"Say  the  word  and  I'll  start  the  motor."  He  was 
in  the  engine  room,  looking  over  the  machinery. 


94  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

At  that  moment  there  came  a  loud  yell  from  the 
galley  where  Washington  White  was. 

"Heah,  heah!  Come  back!"  cried  the  colored 
man.  "My  Shanghai  rooster  is  got  loose  1"  he 
yelled,  and,  an  instant  later,  the  fowl  came  sailing 
out  of  the  projectile,  with  Washington  in  full 
chase  after  him. 

"I'll  help  you  catch  him,"  volunteered  Jack, 
springing  to  the  cook's  aid,  while  Professor  Hen- 
derson laughed,  and  a  bandaged  figure,  looking 
from  a  stateroom  port,  wondered  at  the  delay  in 
starting  the  projectile. 


CHAPTER  XII 

mark's    escape 

Mark  Sampson  was  alone  in  the  deserted 
house.  Bound  hand  and  foot,  stripped  of  his  cloth- 
ing, and  attired  in  some  old  garments  that  the 
tramps  who  made  a  hanging-out  place  of  the  old 
mansion  had  cast  aside,  the  unfortunate  lad  was 
stretched  on  a  pile  of  bagging,  his  heart  beating 
partly  with  fear  and  partly  with  rage  over  a  de- 
sire to  escape  and  punish  the  scoundrel  responsi- 
ble for  his  plight. 

The  man  who  had  captured  him,  after  taking 
away  Mark's  clothes,  had  chuckled,  as  though  at 
some  joke. 

"You  may  think  this  is  funny,"  spoke  the  lad  bit- 
terly, "but  you  won't  be  so  pleased  when  my 
friends  get  after  you." 

"They'll  never  get  after  me,"  boasted  the  man. 
"This  is  a  good  joke.  To  think  that  I  can  pass 
myself  off  as  you;  that  I  can  join  them  in  the  pro- 
jectile, and  they  never  will  be  the  wiser!" 

"They'll  soon  discover  that  you  are  disguised 
95 


96  LOST   ON   THE  MOON 

as  me,"  declared  Mark,  "and  when  they  do  they'll 
have  you  arrested." 

"Yes,  but  they'll  not  discover  it  until  we  have 
left  the  earth,  and  are  on  our  way  to  the  moon. 
Then  it  will  be  too  late  to  turn  back,  and  my  object 
will  have  been  accomplished.  I  will  be  with  them 
in  the  Annihilator,  and  I'll  have  my  revenge ! 
The  projectile  is  due  to  sail  to-morrow,  and  I'll  be 
on  hand.  I'm  going  to  leave  you  now.  I  have 
left  orders  with  a  friend  of  mine  that  you  are  to  be 
released  to-morrow  night.  In  the  meanwhile  you 
will  have  to  be  as  comfortable  as  you  can.  I  wish 
you  no  harm,  but  I  must  keep  you  here. 

"I  will  feed  you  well  before  I  go,  and  put  some 
Tvater  where  you  can  get  it.  But  I  must  leave  you 
tied.  I'll  not  gag  you,  for,  no  matter  how  you 
yell,  no  one  will  hear  you.  I  have  posted  a  notice 
in  front  of  this  place  that  it  is  under  the  watch  of 
the  police,  so  no  tramps  will  venture  in,  and  your 
friends  will  not  come  back. 

"Now,  just  make  yourself  comfortable  here, 
and  I'll  go  to  the  moon  in  your  place.  I  think  I 
shall  enjoy  the  trip.  As  I  said,  you  will  be  re- 
leased to-morrow  night,  several  hours  after  the 
projectile  has  left  the  earth." 

"How  do  you  know  it  is  to  start  to-morrow 
morning?"  asked  Mark. 

"Oh,  I  have  been  spying  around,  and  I  over- 


MARK'S   ESCAPE  97 

heard  the  professors  talking.  I  know  a  thing  or 
two,  and  I'll  be  on  hand,  on  time,  in  your  place! 
Now,  I  have  to  leave  you.  I've  left  ten  dollars 
to  pay  for  your  suit,  which  I  need  to  disguise  my- 
self with." 

Then  the  man  was  gone,  and  Mark  was  left 
with  his  bitter  thoughts  to  keep  him  company.  The 
whole  daring  scheme  of  the  man  had  been  re- 
vealed. He  did  look  something  like  Mark,  and, 
attired  in  the  lad's  clothes,  and  by  keeping  his  face 
concealed,  he  might  pass  himself  off  as  Jack's 
chum;  at  least,  until  after  the  projectile  had 
started. 

"And  then,  as  he  says,  it  will  be  too  late  to  re- 
turn to  earth  and  get  me,"  thought  Mark  bitterly. 
"Oh,  why  did  I  ever  try  to  learn  this  man's  secret? 
Who  is  he,  anyhow?  Why  didn't  I  wait  for  Jack 
at  the  barn,  as  I  promised?  It's  all  my  fault.  I 
wonder  if  I  can't  get  loose?" 

Mark  struggled  several  hours  desperately  and 
at  last  he  felt  the  ropes  giving  slightly.  He  re- 
doubled his  efforts.  Strand  by  strand  the  cords 
parted.  He  put  all  his  efforts  into  one  last  at- 
tempt, and  to  his  great  joy  he  felt  his  hands  sep- 
arate.    He  was  partly  free ! 

But  scarcely  half  his  task  was  accomplished. 
He  had  yet  to  discover  the  secret  of  the  hidden 
room — a  room,  as  he  afterward  learned,  which 


98  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

had  been  built  during  slavery  days  to  conceal  the 
poor  black  men  who  were  escaping  from  the 
South. 

"But  now  I  have  my  hands  to  work  with!"  ex- 
ulted Mark. 

Resting  a  bit  after  his  strenuous  labors,  he  took  a 
long  drink  of  water  and  attacked  the  ropes  on  his 
feet.  They  were  comparatively  easy  to  loosen, 
and  soon  he  stood  up  unbound. 

"Now  for  the  secret  panel!"  he  exclaimed,  for 
he  was  convinced  that  it  was  by  some  such  means 
that  his  captor  had  entered  and  left.  As  has  al- 
ready been  explained,  Mark  knew  on  which  side 
of  his  prison  the  opening  was  likely  to  be — it 
Would  be  where  the  warning  knocks  had  sounded. 
He  began  a  minute  inspection  of  that  wall. 

But  if  Mark  hoped  to  speedily  discover  the  se- 
cret he  was  doomed  to  disappointment.  He  went 
over  every  inch  of  the  surface,  seemingly,  and 
pressed  on  every  depression  or  projection  that  met 
his  eye,  as  he  passed  the  candle  flame  along  the 
wall. 

Success  did  not  reward  him,  and,  as  hour  after 
hour  passed,  and  the  candle  burned  lower  and 
lower,  Mark  began  to  despair. 

"I  must  escape  before  the  projectile  leaves,"  he 
murmured.  "It  will  never  do  to  let  them  take  that 


MARK'S   ESCAPE  99 

man  with  them  under  the  impression  that  they 
have  me.    I  must  escape!    I  will!" 

Once  more  he  began  the  tiresome  task  of  seek- 
ing the  secret  spring.  The  candle  was  spluttering 
in  the  socket  now.  It  would  burn  hardly  another 
minute.     Desperately  Mark  sought. 

At  last,  just  as  the  candle  gave  a  dying  gasp 
and  flared  brightly  up  prior  to  going  out,  the  lad 
saw  a  small  screw  head  he  had  not  noticed  be- 
fore.    It  was  sunk  deep  in  a  board. 

"I'll  press  that  and  see  what  happens !"  he  ex- 
claimed. 

With  a  suddenness  that  was  startling,  he  found 
himself  in  total  darkness.  The  candle  had  burned 
out,  but  he  had  his  finger  on  the  screw.  He  pressed 
it  with  all  his  force. 

There  was  a  rumbling  sound  in  the  darkness, 
a  movement  as  if  some  heavy  body  had  slid  out 
of  the  way,  and  Mark  felt  a  breath  of  air  on  his 
cheeks.    Then  he  saw  a  dim  light. 

"Oh,  I'm  out!  I'm  out!"  he  cried  joyously, 
breathing  a  prayer  of  thankfulness  at  his  deliv- 
erance. "I'm  free  !  I  pushed  on  the  right  spring, 
and  the  panel  slid  back!" 

He  fairly  leaped  forward.  The  morning  light 
was  streaming  in  through  the  broken  windows. 
He  saw  himself  in  the  old  hall  of  the  mansion,  at 


ioo  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

the  head  of  the  stairs,  in  a  sort  of  anteroom,  the 
mantle  of  which  apartment  had  swung  aside  to 
give  him  egress  from  the  secret  chamber  through 
a  hole  in  the  wall.    He  was  free ! 

"But  am  I  in  time?"  he  cried.  "It  is  morn- 
ing— and  about  ten  o'clock,  I  should  judge.  I've 
been  working  to  get  free  all  night.  Will  I  be  in 
time?" 

He  gave  one  last  look  behind  at  his  prison  and 
sprang  down  the  rickety  stairs.  He  had  but  one 
thought — to  reach  home  in  time  to  unmask  the  vil- 
lain who  was  impersonating  him — to  be  in  time  to 
make  the  journey  to  the  moon. 

"But  it's  several  miles,  and  I  can't  walk  very 
fast,"  murmured  Mark.  "I'm  too  stiff  and  weak. 
How  can  I  do  it?" 

He  thought  of  making  his  way  to  the  nearest 
farm  house,  and  asking  for  the  loan  of  a  horse 
and  carriage,  but  he  looked  so  much  like  a  tramp 
that  no  farmer  would  lend  him  a  horse. 

"And  I  need  to  make  speed,"  he  murmured. 

At  that  moment  he  heard  a  noise  down  the 
road.  It  was  a  steady  "chug-chug,"  like  some  dis- 
tant motor-boat,  but  there  was  no  water  near  at 
hand. 

"A  motorcycle!"  exclaimed  Mark.  "Some  one 
is  coming  on  a  motorcycle.  Oh,  if  I  could  only 
borrow  it!" 


MARK'S   ESCAPE  ioi 

He  ran  down  into  the  road.  He  could  see  the 
rider  now.  To  his  joy  it  was  Dick  Johnson— the 
lad  who  had  brought  him  the  mysterious  note. 

"Hi  Dick !    Dick !  hold  on !"  cried  Mark. 

The  lad  on  the  motor  gave  one  glance  at  the 
ragged  figure  that  had  hailed  him.  Then  he 
turned  on  more  power  to  escape  from  what  he 
thought  was  a  savage  tramp. 

"Wait !  Stop  !  I  want  that  motorcycle !"  cried 
Mark. 

"Well,  you're  not  going  to  get  it!"  yelled 
back  Dick.     "I'll  send  the  police  after  you." 

Mark  couldn't  understand.  Then  a  glance 
down  at  his  ragged  garments  showed  him  what 
was  the  matter. 

"Wait!  Hold  on,  Dick!"  he  cried,  running 
forward.  "I'm  Mark  Sampson!  I've  had  a  ter- 
rible time !  I  was  captured  by  that  mysterious 
man,  and  he's  got  my  clothes.  I  must  get  home 
quick!" 

Dick  heard,  but  scarcely  understood.  Howr 
ever,  he  comprehended  that  his  friend  was  in  trou- 
ble, and  he  wanted  to  help  him.  He  slowed  up, 
and  Mark  reached  him. 

"Lend  me  your  motorcycle,  Dick,"  begged 
Mark.  "I  must  get  home  in  a  hurry  to  unmask 
a  scoundrel.  I'll  leave  your  machine  for  you  at 
our  house.  I  won't  hurt  it.  I'm  in  a  hurry!  Get 
off!" 


io*  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

Somewhat  dazed,  Dick  dismounted,  and  Mark 
climbed  into  the  saddle.  He  began  to  pedal,  and 
then  threw  in  the  gasolene  and  spark.  The  cycle 
chugged  off. 

"I'll  leave  it  for  you  at  our  house,"  Mark 
called  back.  "I'm  going  on  a  trip  to  the  moon, 
and  I  don't  want  to  be  late." 

He  was  fast  disappearing  in  a  cloud  of  dust, 
while  Dick,  gazing  after  him,  remarked: 

"Well,  I  always  thought  those  fellows  were 
crazy  to  go  off  in  projectiles  and  things  like  that, 
and  now  I'm  sure  of  it.  Going  to  the  moon  I 
Well,  I  only  hope  he  doesn't  take  my  motorcycle 
there!" 

Mark  sped  on,  turning  the  handle  levers  to  get 
the  last  notch  of  speed  out  of  the  cycle.  Would 
he  be  in  time? 


CHAPTER   XIII 

A   DIREFUL     THREAT 

Perhaps  Washington  White's  Shanghai  rooster 
did  not  care  to  make  the  trip  to  the  moon,  or  per- 
haps the  fowl  had  not  yet  seen  enough  of  this 
earth.  At  any  rate,  when  he  flew  from  the  pro- 
jectile, uttering  loud  crows,  and  landed  some  dis- 
tance away,  he  began  to  run  back  toward  the  coop 
in  the  rear  of  the  yard. 

"Cotch  him,  cotch  him!"  yelled  the  colored 
man.     "Dat's  a  valuable  bird!" 

"We'll  get  him  when  he  goes  in  the  coop,"  said 
Jack,  who  found  it  difficult  to  run  and  laugh  at  the 
same  time. 

"Shall  I  fire  my  rifle  off  and  scare  him?"  asked 
Andy  Sudds. 

"No,  you  might  kill  him  or  scare  him  t' 
death,"  objected  Washington. 

"Come  on,  Mark,  and  help,"  cried  Jack,  look- 
ing toward  the  projectile,  where  a  figure  was 
peering  from  the  glass-covered  port  of  the  main 
cabin. 

But  the  figure,  whose  hand  was  done  up  in  vol- 
103 


104  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

uminous  bandages,  did  not  come  out,  and  Jack 
wondered  the  more  at  what  he  thought  was  a 
growing  strangeness  on  the  part  of  his  chum. 

Jack,  followed  by  Andy  and  Washington,  raced 
off  after  the  rooster,  while  the  two  professors, 
somewhat  amused,  rather  chaffed  at  the  delay. 
But  afterward  they  were  glad  of  it. 

"Just  my  luck!"  muttered  the  bandaged  one. 
"This  delay  comes  at  the  wrong  time.  Why  don't 
they  go  on  without  that  confounded  rooster?  If 
we  stay  here  too  long,  that  fellow  Mark  may  get 
loose  and  spoil  the  whole  thing,  or  Jenkins  may 
go  and  release  him  before  the  time  set.  It  would 
be  just  like  Jenk'ns !  I've  a  good  notion  to  start 
the  projectile  myself.  I  know  how  to  operate  the 
Cardite  motor.  Only  I  suppose  those  two  pro- 
fessors are  on  guard  in  the  engine  room.  I'll 
have  to  wait  until  they  catch  that  rooster,  I  guess, 
but  I'd  like  to  wring  his  neck!" 

The  chase  after  the  fowl  was  kept  up. 

"I've  got  him  now!"  cried  Jack  a  little  later, 
as  the  fowl,  evidently  now  much  exhausted,  ran 
into  another  fence  corner,  where  Jack  caught 
him,  and  shut  him  up  in  the  coop  in  the  projectile. 

"Yo'  suttinly  am  de  mos'  contrary-minded  spec- 
imen ob  de  chicken  fambly  dat  I  eber  seed,"  ob- 
served Washington,  breathing  heavily,  for  his 
run  had  winded  him. 


A    DIREFUL   THREAT  105 

"Well,  are  we  all  ready  to  start  now?"  asked 
Professor  Henderson.  "No  more  live  stock 
loose,  is  there,  Jack?" 

"I  think  not." 

"Where's  Mark?  Wasn't  he  helping  you  catch 
the  rooster?" 

"No,  he's  inside.     Shall  I  seal  the  door?" 

"Yes,  and  I'll  tell  Professor  Roumann  that 
we're  about  to  start.  All  ready  for  the  moon 
trip!" 

Jack  was  pulling  the  steel  portal  toward  him. 
An  eager  face,  peering  from  a  port,  waited  anx- 
iously for  the  tremor  which  would  indicate  that 
the  projectile  had  left  the  earth.  In  another  mo- 
ment they  would  be  off. 

But  what  was  that  sound  coming  from  down 
the  highway.  A  steady  chug-chug — a  sort  of 
roar,  as  of  a  battery  of  rapid-fire  guns  going  off 
in  double  relays!  And,  mingled  with  the  explo- 
sions, there  was  a  voice  shouting: 

"Wait!  Hold  on!  Don't  go  without  me! 
I'm  Mark  Sampson !    Don't  start  the  projectile !" 

"Somebody  must  be  in  a  mighty  hurry  on  a  mo- 
torcycle," thought  Jack,  as  he  paused  a  moment 
before  fastening  the  door.  Then  the  shouts  came 
to  his  ears. 

"Mark  Sampson!"  he  cried. 

Again  came  the  cry* 


to6  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

"Wait !  Wait !  Don't  go  without  me !  YouVe 
got  that  mysterious  man  on  board !" 

"Mark  Sampson!"  murmured  Jack  again. 
"That's  his  voice  sure  enough !  I  wonder — can 
it  be  possible — that  man — with  his  head  all  band- 
aged up — his  queer  actions — I — I " 

Words  failed  the  youth.  Throwing  wide  open 
the  door,  he  sprang  out  of  the  projectile.  A  mo- 
ment later  there  dashed  into  the  yard,  where  the 
great  projectile  rested,  a  strange  figure  astride  of 
a  puffing  motorcycle.  The  figure  was  torn  and 
ragged,  and  the  nondescript  garments  were  cov- 
ered with  dust,  for  Mark  had  had  a  fall.  But 
there  was  no  mistaking  the  face  that  peered 
eagerly  forward. 

"Jack!"  cried  the  youth  on  the  machine. 

"Mark!"  ejaculated  the  lad  who  had  sprung 
from  the  projectile.  "What  has  happened?  Who 
is  the  fellow  who  has  been  masquerading  as 
you?" 

"A  scoundrel  and  a  villain!  Let  me  get  at 
him!"  and,  slamming  on  the  brakes,  as  he  shut 
off  the  power,  Mark  leaped  from  the  motorcycle, 
stood  it  up  against  the  projectile,  and  clasped  his 
chum  by  the  hand. 

"What's  the  matter?"  asked  Professor  Hen- 
derson, as  he,  too,  ran  out  of  the  Annihilator, 


A   DIREFUL   THREAT  107 

"What  does  that  tramp  want,  Jack?  Give  him 
some  money,  and  get  back  in  here;  we  ought  to 
have  started  long  ago."  He  looked  at  the  rag- 
ged figure. 

"This  isn't  a  tramp,"  cried  Jack.  "It's 
Mark!" 

"Mark!    I  thought " 

"There  have  been  strange  doings,"  gasped  the 
lad  in  tramp's  garments.  "I  have  just  escaped 
from  being  kept  a  prisoner.  Where  is  the  mys- 
terious man?  Oh,  I'm  glad  I  arrived  in  time! 
Were  you  about  to  start?" 

"That's  what  we  were,"  replied  Jack.  "Oh, 
Mark,  but  I'm  glad  to  see  you  again!  I  didn't 
know  what  to  think.  You  acted  so  strange — or, 
rather,  the  fellow  we  thought  was  you  had  me 
guessing!" 

"Good  land  a'  massy!"  exclaimed  Washington 
White,  as  he  stood  in  the  doorway,  with  Andy 
Sudds  behind  him.  "Am  dere  two  Marks? 
What's  up,  anyhow?" 

"Don't  let  that  fellow  get  away — the  fellow 
who  passed  himself  off  as  me!"  shouted  Mark. 
"Lock  him  up  !  There's  some  mystery  about  him 
that  must  be  explained.  He's  a  dangerous  man 
to  be  at  large." 

Professor  Henderson  turned  back  to  enter  the 


108  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

projectile.  Jack  advised  Andy  to  get  his  gun 
ready,  with  which  to  threaten  the  scoundrel  in 
case  of  necessity. 

At  that  instant  there  sounded  a  crash  of  glass, 
and  the  whole  front  of  the  big  observation  win- 
dow in  the  side  of  the  Annihilator  was  smashed 
to  atoms.  A  figure  leaped — a  figure  which  no 
longer  had  its  head  bandaged,  and  whose  arm 
,was  no  longer  in  a  sling — the  figure  of  a  man — 
.the  mysterious  man  who  had  held  Mark  a  pris- 
oner! 

"There  he  goes!"  shouted  Jack.  "Catch  him, 
somebody!    Andy,  where's  your  gun?" 

"I'll  have  it  in  a  jiffy!"  cried  the  hunter,  as  he 
dashed  back  to  get  it. 

But  the  man  did  not  linger.  Scrambling  to  his 
feet  after  his  fall,  caused  by  his  leap  from  the 
broken  window,  which  he  had  smashed  with  a 
sledge  hammer  as  soon  as  he  understood  that  his 
game  was  up,  he  raced  out  of  the  yard.  He 
turned  long  enough  to  shake  his  fist  at  the  group 
assembled  around  the  projectile,  and  then  leaped 
away,  calling  out  some  words  which  they  could 
not  hear. 

"Let's  take  after  him,"  proposed  Mark. 

"Come  on,"  seconded  Jack. 

"No,  let  him  go;  he's  a  desperate  man,  and 
you  came  just  in  time  to  unmask  him,"  said  Pro- 


A    DIREFUL   THREAT  109 

fessor  Henderson.  "He  might  harm  you  if  you 
took  after  him.  Let  him  go.  He  has  not  done 
much  damage.  We  can  easily  replace  the  broken 
window.  But  I  can't  understand  what  his  object 
was  in  disguising  himself  as  Mark.  He  certainly 
looked  like  you,  Mark,  especially  when  he  kept 
his  face  concealed.    Why  did  he  do  it?" 

"He  wanted  to  go  to  the  moon  in  my  place," 
answered  the  former  prisoner  of  the  deserted 
house. 

"But  why?"  insisted  Jack. 

"Because,  I  think,  he's  crazy,  and  he  didn't 
really  know  what  he  did  want.  But  he  certainly 
had  me  well  concealed,"  spoke  Mark.  "I'm  free 
now,  however,  and  as  soon  as  I  get  some  decent 
clothes  on  I'll  go  with  you  to  the  moon.  I 
wouldn't  want  the  moon  people  to  see  me  dressed 
this  way." 

"How  did  it  happen?"  asked  Jack.  "Tell  us 
all  about  it.  My!  but  I  certainly  have  been  puz- 
zled since  you — or  rather  since  the  person  we 
thought  was  you — came  back  last  night  all  bunged 
up.    Give  us  the  story." 

"I  will;  give  me  a  chance.  I  guess  that  villain 
is  gone  for  good."  Andy  Sudds  came  out  with  his 
gun,  and  insisted  on  taking  a  look  down  the  road 
and  around  the  premises.  The  man  was  nowhere 
in  sight. 


no  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

"Now  we're  in  for  another  delay,"  remarked 
Jack  ruefully,  as  he  gazed  at  the  smashed  win- 
dow. "It  seems  as  if  we'd  never  get  started  for 
the  moon." 

"Oh,  yes,  we  will,"  declared  Professor  Hen- 
derson. "We  have  some  extra  heavy  plate  glass 
in  the  shop,  and  we  can  soon  put  in  another  ob- 
servation window." 

"Let's  get  right  to  work  then,"  proposed  Jack. 
"That  man  may  come  back.  Did  you  learn  who 
he  was,  Mark?" 

"No,  he  wouldn't  tell  his  name,  and  he  said  he 
was  doing  this  to  get  revenge  on  us  for  some  fan- 
cied wrong.  I  can't  imagine  who  he  is.  But  let's 
work  and  talk  at  the  same  time.  I'll  tell  you  all 
that  happened  to  me,"  which  he  did  briefly. 

Mark  soon  got  rid  of  the  tramp  clothes,  and 
donned  an  extra  suit  which  had  been  packed  in  his 
trunk  in  the  projectile.  Then  he  helped  replace 
the  broken  window,  which,  in  spite  of  their  haste, 
took  nearly  all  the  rest  of  the  day  to  put  in  place. 

"Shall  we  wait  and  start  to-morrow?"  asked 
Jack,  when  four  o'clock  came.  "It  will  soon  be 
dark." 

"Darkness  will  make  no  difference  to  us,"  an- 
nounced Professor  Roumann.  "Our  Cardite  mo- 
tor will  soon  take  us  out  of  the  shadow  of  the 
earth,  and  we  will  be  in  perpetual  sunshine  until 


A   DIREFUL  THREAT  m 

we  reach  the  moon.  As  we  are  all  ready,  we 
might  as  well  start  now." 

They  all  agreed  with  this,  and,  after  a  final 
inspection  of  the  projectile,  the  travellers  entered 
it,  and  Jack  was  once  more  about  to  seal  the  big 
door. 

Before  he  could  do  so  there  came  riding  into 
the  yard,  on  his  motorcycle,  which  he  had  claimed 
that  afternoon,  Dick  Johnson. 

"Wait  a  minute,"  he  cried.  "I've  got  a  letter 
for  you.     It's  from  that  man!" 

"What — another  thing  to  delay  us?"  cried 
Jack,  but  he  called  to  Professor  Roumann  not  to 
start  the  motor,  and  ran  to  take  from  Dick  the 
letter  which  the  lad  held  out. 

"That  same  man  who  gave  me  the  one  for 
Mark  gave  me  this,  and  he  paid  me  a  half  a  dol- 
lar to  bring  it  here,"  said  the  boy. 

"All  right,"  answered  Jack  impatiently. 

He  looked  at  the  note.  It  was  addressed  to 
the  "Moon  Travellers,"  and,  considering  that  he 
was  one,  the  youth  tore  open  the  envelope.  In 
the  dim  light  of  the  fading  day  he  read  the  bold 
handwriting. 

"I  have  fixed  you,"  the  letter  began.  "You  will 
never  get  to  the  moon.  I  shall  have  my  revenge. 
You  took  my  brother  Fred  Axtell  to  Mars  and 
left  him  there.    I  determined  to  get  him  back,  and 


ii2  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

to  that  end  I  disguised  myself  as  one  of  the  boys, 
and  got  aboard.  When  we  were  safely  away 
from  the  earth,  I  would  have  compelled  you  to  go 
to  Mars  and  rescue  my  brother.  But  my  plan  has 
failed.  I  will  have  my  revenge,  though.  You 
will  never  reach  the  moon,  even  if  you  do  get 
started.  Beware!  George,  the  brother  of  Fred 
Axtell,  will  avenge  his  fate!" 

"The  brother  of  the  crazy  machinist!"  gasped 
Jack.  "Now  I  understand  his  strange  actions. 
He's  crazy,  too — he  wanted  to  go  to  Mars — he 
says  we  will  never  reach  the  moon!  Say,  look 
here!"  cried  Jack,  raising  his  voice.  "Here's  bad 
news !  That  scoundrel  has  put  some  game  up  on 
us!  Maybe  he's  tampered  with  the  machinery! 
It  won't  be  safe  to  start  for  the  moon  until  we've 
looked  over  everything  carefully!  He  says  he's 
fixed  us,  and  perhaps  he  has !" 

From  the  projectile  came  hurrying  the  would-be 
moon  travellers,  a  vague  fear  in  their  hearts. 


CHAPTER    XIV 

OFF     AT     LAST 

In  the  gathering  twilight  Professor  Hender- 
son read  slowly  the  note  Dick  had  brought.  Then 
he  passed  it  to  Professor  Roumann.  The  latter 
shook  his  shaggy  gray  hair,  and  murmured  some- 
thing in  German. 

"Where  did  you  meet  the  man?"  asked  Jack 
of  the  young  motorcyclist. 

"About  two  miles  down  the  road.  He  was 
walking  along,  sort  of  talking  to  himself,  and  I 
was  afraid  of  him.  He  called  to  me,  and  offered 
me  a  half  a  dollar  to  deliver  this  message.  I 
didn't  want  to  at  first,  but  he  said  if  I  didn't  he'd 
hurt  me,  so  I  took  it.     Is  it  anything  bad?" 

"We  don't  know  yet,"  replied  Mark. 

"No,  that  is  the  worst  of  it,"  added  Professor 
Roumann.  "He  has  made  a  threat,  but  we  can't 
tell  whether  or  not  he  will  accomplish  it.  We  are 
in  the  dark.  He  may  have  done  some  secret 
damage  to  our  machinery,  and  it  will  take  a  care- 
ful inspection  to  show  it." 

"3 


H4  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

"And  will  the  inspection  have  to  be  made 
now?"  asked  Jack. 

"I  think  so,"  answered  Professor  Henderson 
gravely.  "It  would  not  be  safe  to  start  for  the 
moon  and  have  a  breakdown  before  we  got  there. 
We  must  wait  until  morning  to  begin  our  trip." 

"It  will  be  the  safest,"  spoke  the  German,  and 
the  boys,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  they  were  anx- 
ious to  get  under  way,  were  forced  to  the  same 
conclusion. 

"Then  if  we're  going  to  camp  here  for  the 
night,"  proposed  old  Andy,  "what's  the  matter 
with  me  and  the  boys  having  a  hunt  for  that 
man?  We've  put  up  with  enough  from  him,  and 
it's  time  he  was  punished.  If  we  let  him  go  on, 
he'll  annoy  us  all  the  while,  if  not  now,  then  after 
we  get  back  from  the  moon.  I'm  for  giving  him 
a  chase  and  having  him  arrested." 

"He  certainly  deserves  some  punishment,  if 
only  for  the  way  he  treated  Mark,"  was  Jack's 
opinion,  his  chum  having  related  how  he  was 
drugged  and  kept  a  prisoner  in  the  secret  room, 
and  how  he  escaped  in  time  to  unmask  the  villain. 

"Well,"  said  Professor  Henderson,  after  some 
thought,  "it  might  not  be  a  bad  plan  to  see  if 
you  could  get  that  scoundrel  put  in  some  safe 
place,  where  he  could  make  no  more  trouble  for 
us.     I  guess  the  lunatic  asvlum  is  where  he  be- 


OFF   AT   LAST  115 

longs,  though  I  can  sympathize  with  him  on  ac- 
count of  his  brother.  But  it  was  not  our  fault 
that  the  crazy  machinist  went  with  us  to  Mars. 
He  was  a  stowaway,  and  went  against  our  wishes, 
and  when  he  got  there  he  tried  to  injure  us." 

"Then  may  Mark,  Andy  and  I  see  if  we  can 
find  this  man?"  asked  Jack. 

"Yes,  but  be  careful  not  to  get  separated;  and 
don't  run  any  risks,"  cautioned  the  professor. 
"Mr.  Roumann  and  I,  with  the  help  of  Washing- 
ton, will  go  carefully  over  all  the  machinery,  and 
every  part  of  the  projectile,  to  see  if  any  hidden 
damage  has  been  done.  But  don't  stay  out  too 
late.  You  had  better  notify  the  police.  They  may 
be  able  to  give  you  some  aid,  and  I  don't  mind 
letting  them  know  about  it  now,  as  we  will  soon 
be  away  from  here,  because,  no  matter  if  they 
do  send  detectives  or  constables  spying  about  now, 
they  can  learn  none  of  our  secrets." 

Waiting  only  to  partake  of  a  hasty  meal,  the 
two  boys  and  the  veteran  hunter  set  out,  Andy 
with  his  gun  over  his  shoulder  and  his  sharp  eyes 
on  the  lookout  for  any  sign  of  Axtell,  though  they 
hardly  expected  to  find  him  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
projectile. 

Taking  the  road,  on  which  Dick  Johnson  said 
he  had  encountered  the  man,  the  two  lads  and 
Andy  proceeded,  making  inquiries  from  time  to 


n6  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

time  of  persons  they  met.  But  no  one  had  seen 
Axtell,  and  the  insane  man,  for  such  he  seemed  to 
be,  appeared  to  have  dropped  out  of  sight. 

On  into  the  village  the  searchers  went,  and 
there  they  reported  matters  to  the  chief  of  police, 
telling  him  only  so  much  as  was  necessary  to  give 
him  an  understanding  of  the  situation. 

"I'll  send  a  couple  of  my  best  constables  right 
out  on  the  case,"  said  the  chief.  "We've  just 
appointed  two  new  ones,  and  I  guess  they'll  be 
glad  to  arrest  somebody." 

"Let  them  look  out  that  this  fellow  doesn't 
drug  them  and  carry  them  away,"  cautioned 
Mark. 

"Oh,  I  guess  my  constables  can  look  out  for 
theirselves,"  spoke  the  chief  proudly. 

Once  more  the  trailers  sallied  forth  to  renew 
their  search.  They  thought  perhaps  they  might 
find  their  man  lingering  in  the  town,  but  a  search 
through  the  principal  streets  did  not  disclose  him, 
and  Mark  proposed  that  they  return  to  their 
home  for  the  night,  as  he  was  tired  and  weary 
from  his  experience  in  the  deserted  house. 

As  they  were  turning  out  of  the  town,  their  at- 
tention was  attracted  by  a  disturbance  on  the 
Street  just  ahead  of  them.  A  woman  screamed, 
and  men's  voices  were  heard.  Then  came  cries  of: 

"Police!   Police!" 


OFF   AT   LAST  117 

"Some  one's  in  trouble!"  exclaimed  Jack. 
"Let's  go  see  what  it  is." 

They  broke  into  a  run,  and,  as  they  approached, 
they  saw  a  crowd  quickly  collect.  It  seemed  to 
center  about  a  man  who  was  being  held  by  two 
others,  though  he  struggled  to  get  away. 

"Here,  what's  the  trouble?"  the  boys  heard 
a  constable  ask  as  he  shouldered  his  way  into  the 
throng. 

"This  fellow  tried  to  snatch  this  lady's  purse 
and  run  away  with  it,"  explained  one  of  the  men 
who  had  grabbed  the  scoundrel.  "Stand  still,  you 
brute!"  he  shouted  at  him,  "or  I'll  shake  you  to 
pieces !  Such  fellows  as  you  ought  to  go  to  the 
whipping-post!" 

"I'll  take  charge  of  himf"  announced  the  offi- 
cer.   "Who  is  he?    Does  any  one  know?" 

"Stranger  in  town,  I  guess,"  volunteered  the 
other  man,  who  had  helped  capture  him.  "Need 
any  help,  officer?" 

"No,  I  guess  I  can  manage  him.  Come  along 
now,  and  behave  yourself,  or  I'll  use  my  club.  It 
hasn't  been  tried  on  any  one  yet." 

"That's  one  of  the  new  constables,  I  guess," 
said  Mark,  and  Jack  nodded. 

The  crowd  separated  to  allow  the  officer  to 
take  out  his  prisoner.  As  the  latter  walked  for- 
ward in  the  grip  of  the  constable,  he  remarked 


n8  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

in  a  mild  voice  totally  at  variance  with  his  bold 
act: 

"Why,  I  only  wanted  a  little  change  to  pay  my 
fare  to  the  moon.  I'm  going  there  to  look  for 
my  brother." 

"Crazy  as  a  loon,"  said  one  of  the  men. 

"Or  pretending  that  he  is,"  added  the  officer. 

"Mark!"  cried  Jack,  pointing  at  the  prisoner, 
"look!" 

"The  man  who  held  me  captive !"  gasped 
Mark.  "And  he's  wearing  my  clothes  yet !  But 
he's  in  custody  now,  and  we  needn't  fear  any 
more  from  him." 

"Unless  he  gets  away,"  said  Jack. 

"We'll  go  tell  the  chief  who  he  is,  and  he'll 
keep  him  safe,"  suggested  Mark,  and  they  hur- 
ried to  headquarters,  reaching  there  just  before 
the  prisoner  was  brought  in.  The  boys  were  as- 
sured by  the  chief  that  the  man,  who  was  evi- 
dently a  dangerous  lunatic,  would  be  kept  where 
he  could  do  no  harm.  He  would  be  arraigned 
later  on  the  serious  charge  of  attempted  highway 
robbery,  as  well  as  of  being  a  dangerous  lunatic 
at  large. 

When  the  boys  and  Andy  got  back,  they  found 
the  two  professors  and  Washington  still  going 
over  the  machinery  in  detail. 


OFF   AT   LAST  119 

"Find  anything  wrong?"  asked  Jack,  after  they 
had  told  of  the  arrest  of  Axtell. 

"No,  but  we  will  have  another  look  in  the 
morning,"  said  Mr.  Henderson.  "Then,  if  we 
find  nothing  out  of  order,  I  think  we  will  take  a 
chance  and  start." 

A  thorough  inspection  by  all  hands  the  next 
day  did  not  disclose  anything  wrong,  and,  a  test 
of  the  motors  and  other  machinery  having  shown 
that  it  was  in  good  working  shape,  it  was  decided 
to  leave  the  earth. 

"At  last,  I  think,  we  are  really  going  to  get  un- 
der way  to  the  moon,"  said  Jack,  as  he  closed  the 
big  main  door.  This  time  it  was  not  reopened. 
All  the  stores  and  supplies  were  in  place.  The 
two  professors  were  in  the  engine  room.  Wash- 
ington White  was  in  his  galley,  getting  ready  to 
serve  the  first  meal  in  the  air.  Jack  and  Mark 
were  in  the  pilot  house,  ready  to  do  whatever  was 
necessary  and  anxious  to  feel  the  thrill  that  would 
tell  them  the  projectile  had  left  the  earth. 

"All  ready?"  asked  Professor  Henderson, 

"All  ready,"  replied  his  German  assistant. 

"Then  here  we  go!"  announced  the  aged  sci- 
entist. 

He  pulled  toward  him  the  main  starting  lever 
of  the  Cardite  motor,  while  Professor  Roumann 
opened  the  valve  which  admitted  to  the  plates  and 


120  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

cylinders  the  mysterious  force  that  was  to  send 
them  on  their  way. 

"Elevate  the  bow!"  called  Professor  Hender- 
son. 

"Elevated  it  is,"  answered  the  German,  as  he 
turned  a  wheel  which  directed  the  negative  grav- 
ity force  against  the  surface  of  the  ground  and 
tilted  up  the  nose  of  the  Annihilator,  as  a  sky- 
rocket is  slanted  in  a  trough  before  the  fuse  is 
ignited. 

"Throw  over  the  switch,"  directed  Mr.  Hen- 
derson, and  the  other  scientist,  with  a  quick  mo- 
tion, snapped  it  into  place,  amid  a  shower  of 
vicious  electric  sparks  that  hissed  as  when  hot 
iron  is  thrust  into  water. 

"Steer  straight  ahead!"  called  Professor  Hen- 
derson to  Mark  and  Jack,  who  were  in  the  pilot 
house.     "We'll  head  for  the  moon  later." 

"Straight  ahead  it  is,"  answered  Jack. 

There  was  a  trembling  to  the  great  projectile. 
Up  rose  her  sharp-pointed  bow.  She  swayed 
slightly  in  the  air.  The  trembling  increased.  The 
great  Cardite  motor  hummed  and  throbbed. 
There  was  a  crackling  as  from  a  wireless  ap- 
paratus. 

Then,  with  a  rush  and  a  roar,  the  big  steel 
car,  resembling  an  enormous  cigar,  soared  away 


OFF   AT   LAST  121 

from  the  earth,  like  some  gigantic  piece  of  fire- 
works, and  shot  toward  the  sky. 

"We're  off!"  shouted  Mark. 

"For  the  moon!"  added  Jack. 

And  the  Annihilator  soared  upward  and  on- 
ward, while  those  in  her  never  dreamed  of  the 
fearful  adventures  that  were  to  befall  them  ere 
they  would  again  be  headed  toward  the  earth. 


CHAPTER    XV 

THE   SHANGHAI   MAKES   TROUBLE 

Remaining  in  the  engine  room  long  enough  to 
see  that  all  the  motors  and  apparatus  were  work- 
ing smoothly,  Professor  Henderson  made  his  way 
to  the  pilot  house  forward,  where  Mark  and  Jack 
were  in  charge  of  the  steering  gears.  The  pro- 
jectile could  be  started  and  stopped  from  there, 
as  well  as  from  the  engine  room,  once  the  motor 
was  set  going. 

"Well,  boys,  how  does  it  feel  to  be  in  space 
once  more?"  asked  the  scientist. 

"Fine,"  answered  Mark.  "But  while  I  was 
shut  up  in  that  old  house  I  feared  I'd  never  have 
this  chance  again." 

"It  seems  like  old  times  again,  to  be  flying 
through  space,"  remarked  Jack.  "My!  but  we 
aren't  making  half  the  speed  of  which  the  pro- 
jectile is  capable.  Why,  we're  only  going  about 
twenty  miles  a  second,"  and  he  spoke  as  if  that 
was  a  mere  nothing. 

122 


SHANGHAI   MAKES   TROUBLE         123 

"Twenty  miles  is  some  speed,"  observed  Mark. 

"The  earth  goes  around  the  sun  at  the  rate  of 
nineteen  miles  a  second,  or  about  seventy-five 
times  as  fast  as  the  swiftest  cannon-ball,  so  you 
see,  Jack,  you  are  'going  some,'  as  the  boys  say." 

"Yes,  but  we  went  much  faster  when  we  went 
to  Mars.  Still,  no  matter  how  fast  we  travel, 
you'd  never  realize  it  inside  here." 

This  was  true.  So  well  balanced  was  the  pro- 
jectile, and  so  delicately  poised  was  the  machin- 
ery, that  the  terrifically  fast  rate  of  travel,  rival- 
ling that  of  the  earth,  was  no  more  noticed  than 
we,  on  this  globe,  notice  our  pace  of  nineteen  miles 
a  second  around  the  sun. 

"Everything  seems  to  be  all  right,"  observed 
Professor  Henderson,  as  he  looked  out  of  the 
plate-glass  window  of  the  pilot  house  into  a  sea 
of  rolling  mist,  which  represented  the  ether,  for 
they  had  soon  passed  through  the  atmosphere  of 
the  earth,  which  scientists  estimate  to  be  two  hun- 
dren  miles  in  thickness. 

"Are  we  going  to  move  any  faster  than  this?" 
asked  Jack,  who  seemed  possessed  of  a  speed 
mania. 

"Not  right  away,"  replied  Mr.  Henderson. 
"Professor  Roumann  wants  to  thoroughy  test  the 
Cardite  motor  first.  Then,  when  he  finds  that  it 
works  all  right,  we  may  go  faster.     But  we  will 


124  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

be  at  the  moon  soon  enough  as  it  is.  It  is  time 
we  headed  more  directly  on  our  proper  way, 
though,  so  I  think  I  will  ask  Mr.  Roumann  to 
step  here  and  aid  me  in  getting  the  projectile  on 
the  right  course.  You  boys  had  better  remain 
also  and  learn  how  it  is  done.  You  may  need  to 
know  some  time." 

"I'll  call  the  professor  here,  if  he  can  leave  the 
engine  room,"  said  Mark,  and  he  found  the  Ger- 
man bending  over  some  complicated  apparatus. 
The  scientist  announced  that  the  machines  would 
run  themselves  automatically  for  a  while,  so  he 
accompanied  the  lad  back  to  the  pilot-house. 

There,  consulting  big  charts  of  the  heavens, 
and  by  making  some  intricate  calculations,  which 
the  boys  partly  understood,  the  German  and  Mr. 
Henderson  were  able  to  locate  the  exact  position 
of  the  moon,  though  that  body  was  not  then  in 
sight,  being  behind  the  earth. 

"That  ought  to  bring  us  there  inside  of  a  week," 
announced  Mr.  Henderson,  as  he  fastened  the 
automatic  steering  apparatus  in  place.  "The  pro- 
jectile will  now  be  held  on  a  straight  course,  and 
I  hope  we  shall  not  have  to  change  it." 

"Could  anything  cause  us  to  swerve  to  one 
side?"  asked  Jack. 

"Sure,"  replied  Mark.  "Don't  you  remember 
how,  in  the  trip  to  Mars,  we  nearly  collided  with 


SHANGHAI   MAKES   TROUBLE         125 

the  comet?  If  we  are  in  danger  of  hitting  an- 
other one  of  those  things,  or  even  a  meteor,  we'll 
steer  out  of  the  way,  won't  we?" 

"Of  course.  I  forgot  about  that,"  admitted 
Jack. 

"Yes,"  declared  Professor  Roumann,  "we'll 
have  to  be  on  the  lookout  for  wandering  meteors 
or  other  stray  heavenly  bodies.  But  our  instru- 
ments will  give  us  timely  warning  of  them.  Now, 
I  think  we  can  leave  the  projectile  to  herself 
while  I  make  sure  that  all  the  machinery  is  run- 
ning smoothly.  You  boys  may  stay  here  if  you 
like,  though  there  isn't  much  to  see." 

There  wasn't.  It  was  totally  unlike  taking  a 
trip  on  earth,  where  the  ever-varying  scenery 
makes  a  journey  pleasant.  There  was  no  land- 
scape to  greet  the  eye  now.  It  was  even  unlike  a 
trip  in  a  balloon,  for  in  that  sort  of  air-craft,  at 
least  for  a  time,  a  glimpse  of  the  earth  can  be 
had.  Now  there  was  nothing  but  a  white  blanket 
of  mist  to  be  seen,  which  rolled  this  way  and  that. 
Occasionally  it  was  dispelled,  and  the  full,  golden 
sunlight  bathed  the  projectile.  The  earth  had 
long  since  dropped  out  of  sight,  for  it  required 
only  a  few  seconds  to  put  the  Annihilator  high  up 
in  a  position  where  even  the  most  intrepid  bal- 
loonist had  never  ventured. 

Mark  and  Jack  sat  for  a  few  minutes  in  the 


126  LOST  ON   THE   MOON 

pilot-house,  looking  out  into  the  ether.     But  they 
soon  tired  of  seeing  absolutely  nothing. 

"I  wonder  what  we'll  do  when  we  get  to  the 
moon?"  asked  Jack  of  his  chum. 

"Why,  I  suppose  you'll  make  a  dive  for  a  hat- 
ful of  diamonds,  won't  you?  That  is,  if  you  still 
believe  that  Martian  newspaper  account." 

"I  sure  do." 

The  boys  found  the  two  professors  busy  ad- 
justing some  of  the  delicate  scientific  instruments 
with  which  they  expected  to  make  observations  on 
the  trip,  and  after  they  reached  the  moon. 

"What  is  your  opinion,  Professor  Roumann, 
of  the  temperature  at  the  moon's  surface?"  asked 
Mr.  Henderson. 

"I  am  in  two  minds  about  it,"  was  the  reply. 
"A  few  years  ago,  I  see  by  an  astronomy,  Lord 
Rosse  inferred  from  his  observations  that  the 
temperature  rose  at  its  maximum  (or  about  three 
days  after  full  moon)  far  above  that  of  boiling 
water." 

"Boiling  water!"  ejaculated  Mark.  "Wow! 
That  won't  be  very  nice.  I  don't  want  to  be 
boiled  like  a  lobster!" 

"Wait  a  moment,"  cautioned  Mr.  Roumann, 
with  a  smile.  "Later,  Lord  Rosse's  own  investi- 
gations, and  those  of  Langley,  threw  some  doubts 
on  this.    There  is  said  to  be  no  air  blanket  about 


SHANGHAI   MAKES   TROUBLE         127 

the  moon,  as  there  is  about  the  earth,  so  that  the 
moon  loses  heat  as  fast  as  it  receives  it;  and  it 
now  seems  more  probable  that  the  temperature 
never  rises  above  the  freezing  point  of  water,  just 
as  is  the  case  on  our  highest  mountains." 

"That's  better,"  came  from  Jack.  "We  can 
stand  a  low  temperature  more  easily  than  we  can 
to  be  boiled;  eh,  Jack?" 

"Sure.  But  I  don't  want  to  be  frozen  or  boiled 
either,  if  I  can  help  it.  Guess  I'll  wear  my  fur 
suit  that  we  brought  back  from  the  North  Pole 
with  us." 

"I  agree  with  you,  Professor  Roumann,  about 
the  temperature,"  announced  Mr.  Henderson, 
"so  we  must  make  up  our  minds  to  shiver,  rather 
than  melt.    But  we  are  prepared  for  that." 

"What  about  there  being  no  air  on  the  moon?" 
asked  Jack. 

"Oh,  we  can  manufacture  our  own  oxygen," 
said  Mark.  "We  can  walk  around  with  an  air 
tank  on  our  shoulders,  as  we  did  when  we  went 
beneath  the  surface  of  the  ocean.     Now,  I  guess 


"Dinner  am  served  in  de  dining  car!"  inter- 
rupted Washington  White,  his  black  face  grin- 
ning cheerfully.  He  used  to  be  a  waiter  in  a 
Pullman,  and  he  was  proud  of  it.  "First  call  fo* 
dinner!"  he  went  on.    "Part  ob  it  am  boiled,  part 


128  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

am  roasted,  laik  I  done  heah  yo'  talkin'  1bout  jest 
now,  an5  part  am  frozed — dat's  de  ice  cream," 
he  added  hastily,  lest  there  be  a  mistake  about  it. 

"Well,  that  sounds  good,"  observed  Mark. 
"Come  on,  everybody,"  and  he  led  the  way  to  the 
dining  cabin. 

They  had  not  been  at  the  table  more  than  a 
few  minutes,  and  had  begun  on  the  "boiled"  part 
of  the  meal,  which  was  the  soup,  when  from  the 
engine  room  there  came  a  curious,  whining  noise, 
as  when  an  electric  motor  slows  up. 

"What's  that?"  cried  Professor  Henderson, 
jumping  up  from  his  seat  in  alarm. 

"Something  wrong  in  the  engine  room,"  cried 
Mr.  Roumann. 

The  two  scientists,  followed  by  the  boys,  hur- 
ried to  where  the  various  pieces  of  apparatus 
were  sending  the  projectile  forward  through 
space.  Already  there  was  an  appreciable  slack- 
ening of  speed. 

"The  Cardite  motor  has  stopped!"  cried  Mr. 
Roumann.     "Something  has  happened  to  it!" 

"Can  it  be  the  result  of  the  damage  which  that 
lunatic  did?"  asked  Mr.  Henderson. 

"Perhaps,"  spoke  Jack.  "If  I  had  him 
here " 

"We  are  falling!"  shouted  Mark,  looking  at  an 
indicator  which  marked  their  speed  and  motion. 


SHANGHAI    MAKES    TROUBLE         129 

"Can't  we  start  some  other  motor?"  asked 
Jack. 

At  that  instant  from  beneath  the  now  silent 
Cardite  machine  there  came  a  prolonged  crow. 

"My  Shanghai  rooster!"  shouted  Washington. 
"He  am  in  dar!" 

A  second  later  the  rooster  scrambled  out, 
scratching  vigorously.  Grains  of  corn  were  scat- 
tered about.  The  motor  started  up  again,  and 
the  projectile  resumed  its  onward  way. 

"The  rooster  stopped  it!"  cried  Jack.  "He 
went  under  it  to  get  some  corn,  and  he  must  have 
deranged  one  of  the  levers.  Oh,  you  old  Shang- 
hai, you  nearly  gave  us  all  heart  disease!" 

And  the  rooster  crowed  louder  than  before, 
while  his  colored  owner  "shooed"  him  out  of  the 
engine  room.  The  trouble  was  over  speedily,  and 
the  Annildlator  was  once  more  speeding  toward 
the  moon. 


CHAPTER    XVI 

"will  it  hit  us?" 

"Well,  for  a  trouble-maker,  give  me  a  rooster 
every  time,"  spoke  Jack,  as,  after  an  examination 
of  the  machinery,  it  was  found  that  nothing  was 
out  of  order.  "How  do  you  think  it  happened, 
Professor  Henderson?" 

"It  never  could  have  happened  except  in  just 
that  way,"  was  the  reply  of  Mr.  Roumann.  "Un- 
derneath the  motor,  where  they  are  supposed  to 
be  out  of  all  reach,  are  several  self-adjusting 
levers.  They  control  the  speed,  and  also,  by  be- 
ing moved  in  a  certain  direction,  they  will  shut 
down  the  apparatus.  The  rooster  crawled  be- 
neath the  machine,  an  act  that  I  never  figured  on, 
for  I  knew  it  was  too  small  for  any  of  us  to 
reach  with  our  hands  or  arms,  even  had  we  so 
desired.  But  the  Shanghai's  feathers  must  have 
brushed  against  the  levers,  and  that  stopped  the 
action  of  the  Cardite  motor.  However,  I'm 
glad  it  was  no  worse." 

"Yes,  let's  finish  dinner  now,  if  everything  is  all 
right,"  proposed  Mark. 

130 


"WILL   IT   HIT   US?"  131 

"How  did  the  rooster  get  in  here?"  asked  Jack. 

"I  'spects  dat's  my  fault,"  answered  Wash- 
ington. "I  took  him  out  ob  his  coop  fo'  a  little 
exercise  dis  mawnin',  an'  he  run  in  heah." 

"That  explains  it,  I  think,"  said  Mr.  Rou- 
mann.  "Well,  Washington,  don't  let  it  happen 
again.  We  don't  want  to  be  dashed  downward 
through  space  all  on  account  of  a  rooster." 

"No,  indeedy;  I'll  lock  him  up  good  an'  tight 
arter  dis,"  promised  the  colored  man. 

They  resumed  the  interrupted  dinner,  discuss- 
ing the  possibility  of  what  might  have  happened, 
and  congratulating  themselves  that  it  did  not  take 
place. 

"It  certainly  seems  like  old  times  to  be  eating 
while  travelling  along  like  a  cannon-ball,"  re- 
marked Jack.  "I  declare,  it  gives  me  an  ap- 
petite!" 

"You  didn't  need  any,"  retorted  his  chum. 
"But  say!  maybe  things  don't  taste  good  to  me, 
after  what  I  got  while  that  fellow  Axtell  had  me 
a  prisoner!  Jack,  I'll  have  a  little  more  of  that 
cocoanut  pie,  if  you  don't  mind." 

Jack  passed  over  the  pastry,  and  Mark  took  a 
liberal  piece.  Then  Washington  brought  in  the  ice 
cream,  which  was  frozen  on  board  by  means  of 
an  ammonia  gas  apparatus,  the  invention  of  Pro- 
fessor Henderson.      The   novelty   of   dining   as 


132  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

comfortably  as  at  home,  yet  being  thousands  of 
miles  above  the  earth,  and,  at  the  same  time, 
speeding  along  like  a  cannon-ball,  did  not  impress 
our  friends  as  much  as  it  had  during  their  trip  to 
Mars. 

"Well,  we're  making  a  little  better  time  now," 
observed  Mark,  as  he  and  the  others  rose  from 
the  table  and  went  to  the  engine  room.  "The  gauge 
shows  that  we're  making  twenty-five  miles  a  sec- 
ond." 

"We  will  soon  go  much  faster,"  announced 
Professor  Roumann.  "I  have  not  yet  had  a 
chance  to  test  my  Cardite  motor  to  its  fullest 
speed,  and  I  think  I  will  do  so.  I  wish  to  see  if 
it  will  equal  my  Etherium  machine.  I'll  turn  on 
the  power  gradually  now,  and  we'll  see  what  hap- 
pens." 

"How  fast  do  you  think  it  ought  to  send  us 
along?"  asked  Jack. 

"Oh,  perhaps  one  hundred  and  twenty-five 
miles  a  second.  You  know  we  went  a  hundred 
miles  a  second  when  we  headed  for  Mars.  I 
would  not  be  surprised  if  we  made  even  one  hun- 
dred and  thirty  miles  a  second  with  the  Cardite." 

"Whew !  If  we  ever  hit  anything  going  like 
that!"  exclaimed  old  Andy  Sudds. 

"We'd  go  right  through  it,"  finished  Jack  fer= 
vently. 


"WILL    IT   HIT   US?"  133 

The  professor  was  soon  ready  for  the  test. 
Slowly  he  shoved  over  the  controlling  lever.  The 
Cardite  motor  hummed  more  loudly,  like  some 
great  cat  purring.  Louder  snapped  the  electrical 
waves.  The  air  vibrated  with  the  enormous  speed 
of  the  valve  wheels,  and  there  was  a  prickling 
sensation  as  the  power  flowed  into  the  positive  and 
negative  plates,  by  which  the  projectile  was  moved 
through  space. 

"Watch  the  hand  of  the  speed  indicator,  boys," 
directed  Professor  Roumann,  "while  Professor 
Henderson  and  I  manipulate  the  motor.  Call  out 
the  figures  to  us,  for  we  must  keep  our  eyes  on  the 
valves." 

Slowly  the  speed  indicator  hand,  which  was 
like  that  of  an  automobile  speedometer,  swept 
over  the  dial. 

"Fifty  miles  a  second,"  read  off  Mark.  The 
two  professors  shoved  the  levers  over  still  more. 

"Seventy-five,"  called  Jack. 

"Give  it  a  little  more  of  the  positive  current," 
directed  Mr.  Roumann. 

"Ninety  miles  a  second,"  read  Mark  a  few 
moments  later. 

"We  are  creeping  up,  but  we  have  not  yet 
equalled  our  former  speed,"  spoke  Mr.  Hender- 
son. The  motor  was  fairly  whining  now,  as  if  in 
protest. 


134  LOST  ON   THE   MOON 

"One  hundred  and  five  miles,"  announced 
Jack. 

"Ha!  That's  some  better!"  ejaculated  the 
German.  "I  think  we  shall  do  it."  Once  more 
he  advanced  the  speed  lever  a  notch. 

"One  hundred  and  thirty!"  fairly  shouted 
Mark.     "We  are  beating  all  records!" 

"And  we  will  go  still  farther  beyond  them !" 
cried  Mr.  Roumann.     "Watch  the  gauge,  boys!" 

To  the  last  notch  went  the  speed  handle.  There 
was  a  sharp  crackling,  snapping  sound,  as  if  the 
metal  of  which  the  motor  was  composed  was 
strained  to  the  utmost.    Yet  it  held  together. 

The  hand  of  the  dial  quivered.  It  hung  on  the 
one  hundred  and  thirty  mark  for  a  second,  as  if 
not  wanting  to  leave  it,  and  then  the  steel  pointer 
swept  slowly  on  in  a  circle,  past  point  after  point. 

"One  hundred  and  thirty-five — one  hundred 
and  forty,"  whispered  Jack,  as  if  afraid  to  speak 
aloud.  The  two  professors  did  not  look  up  from 
the  motor.  They  looked  at  the  oil  and  lubricating 
cups.  Already  the  main  shaft  was  smoking  with 
the  heat  of  friction. 

"Look!  look!"  whispered  Mark  hoarsely. 

"One  hundred  and  fifty-three  miles  a  second!" 
exclaimed  Jack.  "You've  done  it,  Professor 
Roumann!" 


"WILL   IT   HIT   US?"  135 

"Yes,  I  have,"  spoke  the  German,  with  a  sigh 
of  satisfaction.  "That  is  faster  than  mortal  man 
ever  travelled  before,  and  I  think  no  one  will  ever 
equal  our  speed.  We  have  broken  all  records- — 
even  our  own.  Now  I  will  slow  down,  but  we 
must  do  it  gradually,  so  as  not  to  strain  the  ma- 
chinery." 

He  slipped  back  the  speed  lever,  notch  by 
notch.  The  hand  of  the  dial  began  receding,  but 
it  still  marked  one  hundred  and  twenty  miles  a 
second. 

Suddenly,  above  the  roar  and  hum  of  the  mo- 
tor, there  sounded  the  voice  of  Andy. 

"Professor!"  he  shouted.  "We're  heading 
right  toward  a  big,  black  stone!  Is  that  the 
moon?" 

"The  moon?  No,  we  are  not  half  way  there," 
said  Mr.  Henderson.     "Are  you  sure,  Andy?" 

"Sure?  Yes!  I  saw  it  from  the  window  in  the 
pilot-house.     We  are  shooting  right  toward  it." 

"Look  to  the  motor,  and  I'll  see  what  it  is," 
directed  Mr.  Henderson  to  his  friend.  Followed 
by  the  boys,  he  hurried  to  the  steering  tower.  His 
worst  fears  were  confirmed. 

Speeding  along  with  a  swiftness  unrivalled  even 
by  some  stars,  the  projectile  was  lurching  toward 
a  great,  black  heavenly  body. 


136  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

"It's  a  meteor!  An  immense  meteor!"  cried 
Professor  Henderson,  "and  it's  coming  right 
toward  us." 

"Will  it  hit  us?"  gasped  Mark  and  Jack  to- 
gether. 

"I  don't  know.  We  must  try  to  avoid  it.  Boys, 
notify  Professor  Roumann  at  once.  We  are  in 
grave  danger!" 


CHAPTER   XVII 

TURNING     TURTLE 

Together  Mark  and  Jack  leaped  for  the  en- 
gine room.  Their  faces  showed  the  fear  they  felt. 
Even  before  they  reached  it,  they  realized  that, 
at  the  awful  speed  at  which  they  were  travelling, 
and  the  fearful  velocity  of  the  meteor,  there 
might  be  a  crash  in  mid-air  which  would  destroy 
the  projectile  and  end  their  lives. 

"I  wonder  if  we  can  steer  clear  of  it?"  gasped 
Jack. 

"If  it's  possible  the  professor  will  do  it,"  re- 
sponded his  chum. 

The  next  instant  they  were  in  the  engine  room, 
where  Mr.  Roumann  was  bending  over  the  Car- 
dite  motor. 

"Shut  off  the  power!"  yelled  Jack. 

"We  are  going  to  hit  a  meteor!"  gasped  Mark. 

The  German  looked  up  with  a  startled  glance. 

"Slow  down?"  he  repeated.  "It  is  impossible 
to  slow  down  at  once  !  We  are  going  ninety  miles 
a  second !"    He  pointed  to  the  speed  gauge. 

137 


138  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

"Then  there's  going  to  be  a  fearful  collision!'* 
cried  Jack,  and  he  blurted  out  the  fact  of  the  near- 
ness of  the  heavenly  wanderer. 

"So!"  exclaimed  Professor  Roumann.  "Dot  is 
bat!  ferry  bat!"  and  he  lapsed  into  the  broken 
language  that  seldom  marked  his  almost  per- 
fect English.  Then,  murmuring  something  in  his 
own  tongue,  he  leaped  away  from  the  motor,  call- 
ing to  the  boys : 

"Slow  it  down  gradually!  Keep  pulling  the 
speed  lever  toward  you !  I  will  set  in  motion  the 
repelling  apparatus  and  go  to  help  Professor 
Henderson  steer  out  of  the  way.  It  is  our  only 
chance!" 

Mark  and  Jack  took  their  places  beside  the 
Cardite  motor,  which  was  still  keeping  up  a  fear- 
ful speed,  though  not  so  fast  as  at  first.  To  stop 
it  suddenly  would  mean  that  the  cessation  of 
strain  could  not  all  be  diffused  at  once,  and  serious; 
damage  might  result. 

The  only  way  was  to  come  gradually  down  to 
the  former  speed,  and,  while  Mark  kept  his  eyes 
on  the  indicator,  Jack  pulled  the  lever  toward 
him,  notch  by  notch. 

"She's  down  to  seventy-five  miles  a  second," 
whispered  Mark.  They  were  as  anxious  now  to 
reduce  speed  as  they  had  been  before  to  in- 
crease it. 


TURNING   TURTLE  139 

Meanwhile  Professor  Roumann  had  set  in  mo- 
tion a  curious  bit  of  apparatus,  designed  to  repel 
stray  meteors  or  detached  bits  of  comets.  As  is 
well  known,  bodies  floating  in  space,  away  from 
the  attraction  of  gravitation,  attract  or  repel  each 
other  as  does  a  magnet  or  an  electrically  charged 
object. 

Acting  on  this  law  of  nature,  Professor  Rou- 
mann had,  with  the  aid  of  Mr.  Henderson,  con- 
structed a  machine  which,  when  a  negative  cur- 
rent of  electricity  was  sent  into  it,  would  force 
away  any  object  that  was  approaching  the  An- 
nihilator.  In  a  few  moments  the  boys  at  the  Car- 
dite  motor  heard  the  hum,  the  throb  and  crackling 
that  told  them  that  the  repelling  apparatus  was  at 
work. 

But  would  it  act  in  time  ?  Or  would  the  meteor 
prove  too  powerful  for  it?  And,  if  it  did,  would 
the  two  scientists  be  able  to  steer  the  swiftly  mov- 
ing projectile  out  of  the  way  of  the  big,  black 
stone,  as  the  old  hunter  called  it? 

These  were  questions  that  showed  on  the  faces 
of  the  two  lads  as  they  bent  over  the  motor. 

"We're  only  going  fifty  miles  a  second  now," 
whispered  Jack. 

Mark  nodded  his  head.  "Can't  you  pull  the 
lever  over  faster?"  he  asked. 

"I  don't  dare,"  replied  his  chum. 


140  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

There  was  nothing  to  do  but  to  wait  and  grad» 
ually  slow  up  the  projectile  as  much  as  possible. 
The  boys  could  hear  the  professors  in  the  pilot- 
house shifting  gears,  valves  and  levers  to  change 
the  course  of  the  projectile.  Andy  Sudds  and 
Washington  White,  with  fear  on  their  faces, 
looked  into  the  engine  room,  waiting  anxiously 
for  the  outcome. 

"Hab — hab  we  hit  it  yet?"  asked  Washington, 
moving  his  hands  nervously. 

"I  reckon  not,  or  we'd  know  it,"  said  the 
hunter. 

"No,  not  yet,"  answered  Jack,  in  a  low  voice. 
"How  much  are  we  making  now,  Mark?" 

"Only  thirty  a  second." 

"Good!     She's  coming  down." 

Hardly  had  he  spoken  than  there  sounded  a 
noise  like  thunder,  or  the  rushing  of  some  mighty 
wind.  The  projectile,  which  was  trembling 
throughout  her  length  from  the  force  of  the  mo- 
tor, shivered  as  though  she  had  plunged  into  the 
unknown  depths  of  some  mighty  sea.  The  roar- 
ing increased.  Mark  and  Jack  looked  at  each 
other.  Washington  White  fell  upon  his  knees  and 
began  praying  in  a  loud  voice.  Old  Andy  grasped 
his  gun,  as  though  to  say  that,  even  though  on  the 
brink  of  eternity,  he  was  ready. 

Then,  with  a  scream  as  of  some  gigantic  shell 


TURNING   TURTLE  141 

from  a  thousand-inch  rifle,  something  passed 
over  the  Annihilator;  something  that  shook  the 
great  projectile  like  a  leaf  in  the  wind.  And  then 
the  scream  died  away,  and  there  was  silence.  For 
a  moment  no  one  spoke,  and  then  Jack  whispered 
hoarsely: 

"We've  passed  it." 

"Yes,"  added  Mark,  "we're  safe  now." 

"By  golly!  I  knowed  we  would!"  fairly  yelled 
Washington,  leaping  to  his  feet.  "I  knowed  dat 
no  old  meteor  could  kerflumox  us !  Perfesser 
Henderson  he  done  jumped  our  boat  ober  it  laik  a 
hunter  jumps  his  hoss  ober  a  fence.  Golly!  I'se 
feelin'  better  now!" 

"How  did  you  avoid  it?"  asked  Mark  of  the 
professor. 

"With  the  help  of  the  repelling  machine  and 
by  changing  our  course.  But  we  did  it  only  just  in 
time.  It  was  an  immense  meteor,  much  larger 
than  at  first  appeared,  and  it  was  blazing  hot. 
Had  it  struck  us,  there  would  have  been  nothing 
left  of  us  or  the  projectile  either  but  star  dust. 
But  we  managed  to  pass  beneath  it,  and  now  we 
are  safe." 

They  congratulated  each  other  on  their  lucky 
escape,  and  then  busied  themselves  about  various 
duties  aboard  the  air-craft.  The  rest  of  the  day 
was  spent  in  making  minor  adjustments  to  some 


142  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

of  the  machines,  oiling  others,  and  in  planning 
what  they  would  do  when  they  reached  the  moon. 

In  this  way  three  days  and  nights  passed, 
mainly  without  incident.  They  slept  well  on 
board  the  Annihilator,  which  was  speeding  so 
swiftly  through  space — slept  as  comfortably  as 
they  had  on  earth.  Each  hour  brought  them 
nearer  the  moon,  and  they  figured  on  landing  on 
the  surface  of  that  wonderful  and  weird  body  in 
about  three  days  more. 

It  was  on  the  morning  of  the  fourth  day  when, 
as  Mark  and  Jack  were  taking  their  shift  in  the 
engine  room,  that  Jack  happened  to  glance  from 
the  side  observation  window,  which  was  near  the 
Cardite  motor.  What  he  saw  caused  him  to  cry 
out  in  surprise. 

"I  say,  Mark,  look  here!  There's  the  moon 
over  there.    We're  not  heading  for  it  at  all  I" 

"By  Jove!  You're  right!"  agreed  his  chum. 
"We're  off  our  course!" 

"We  must  tell  Professor  Henderson!"  cried 
Jack.  "I'll  do  it.  You  stay  here  and  watch 
things." 

A  few  seconds  later  a  very  much  alarmed  youth 
was  rapidly  talking  to  the  two  scientists,  who  were 
in  the  pilot-house. 

"Some  unknown  force  must  have  pulled  us  off 


TURNING   TURTLE  143 

our  course,"  Jack  was  saying.     "The  moon  is 
away  off  to  one  side  of  us." 

To  his  surprise,  instead  of  being  alarmed,  Mr. 
Roumann  only  smiled. 

"It's  true,"  insisted  Jack. 

"Of  course,  it  is,"  agreed  Mr.  Henderson. 
"We  can  see  it  from  here,  Jack,"  and  he  pointed 
to  the  observation  window,  from  which  could  be 
noticed  the  moon  floating  in  the  sky  at  the  same 
time  the  sun  was  shining,  a  phenomenon  which  is 
often  visible  on  the  earth  early  in  the  morning  at 
certain  of  the  moon's  phases. 

"Will  we  ever  get  there?"  asked  Jack. 

"Of  course,"  replied  Mr.  Roumann.  "You 
must  remember,  Jack,  that  the  moon  is  moving  at 
the  same  time  we  are.  Had  I  headed  the  projec- 
tile for  Luna,  and  kept  it  on  that  course,  she 
would,  by  the  time  we  reached  her,  been  in  an- 
other part  of  the  firmament,  and  we  would  have 
overshot  our  mark.  So,  instead,  I  aimed  the 
Annihilator  at  a  spot  in  the  heavens  where  I  cal- 
culated the  moon  would  be  when  we  arrived 
there.  And,  if  I  am  not  mistaken,  we  will  reach 
there  at  the  same  time,  and  drop  gently  down  on 
Luna." 

"Oh,  is  that  it?"  asked  the  lad,  much  relieved. 

"That's  it,"   replied  Mr.   Henderson.      "And 


144  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

that's  why  we  seem  to  be  headed  away  from  the 
moon.  Her  motion  will  bring  her  into  the  right 
position  for  us  to  land  on  when  the  time  comes." 

"Then  I'd  better  go  tell  Mark,"  said  the  lad. 
"He's  quite  worried."  He  soon  explained  mat- 
ters to  his  chum,  and  together  they  discussed  the 
many  things  necessary  to  keep  in  mind  when  one 
navigates  the  heavens. 

That  day  saw  several  thousand  more  miles 
reeled  off  on  the  journey  to  the  moon,  and  that 
evening  (or  rather  what  corresponded  to  even- 
ing, for  it  was  perpetual  daylight)  they  began  to 
make  their  preparations  for  landing.  Their  won- 
derful journey  through  space  was  nearing  an  end. 

"I  guess  that  crazy  Axtell  fellow  was  only  jok- 
ing when  he  said  we'd  never  reach  the  moon," 
ventured  Jack.     "Nothing  has  happened  yet." 

"Only  the  meteor,"  said  Mark,  "and  he 
couldn't  know  about  that.  I  guess  he  didn't  get 
a  chance  to  damage  any  of  the  machinery." 

"No,  we  seem  to  be  making  good  time,"  went 
on  his  chum.     "I  think  I'll  go  and " 

Jack  did  not  finish  his  sentence.  Instead  he 
stared  at  one  of  the  instruments  hanging  from  the 
walls  of  the  engine  room.  It  was  a  sort  of  ba- 
rometer to  tell  their  distance  from  the  earth,  and 
it  swung  to  and  fro  like  a  pendulum.  Now  the 
Instrument  was  swinging  out  away  from  the  wall 


TURNING   TURTLE  145 

to  which  it  was  attached.  Further  and  further 
over  it  inclined.  Jack  felt  a  curious  sensation. 
Mark  put  his  hand  to  his  head. 

"I  feel — feel  dizzy!"  he  exclaimed.  "What  is 
the  matter?" 

"Something  has  happened,"  cried  Jack. 

The  instrument  swung  over  still  more.  Some 
tools  fell  from  a  work  bench,  and  landed  on  the 
steel  floor  with  a  crash.  The  boys  were  stagger- 
ing about  the  engine  room,  unable  to  maintain 
their  balance. 

There  came  cries  of  fear  from  the  galley, 
where  Washington  White  was  rattling  away  amid 
his  pots  and  pans.  Andy  Sudds  was  calling  to 
some  one,  and  from  the  pilot-house  came  the  ex- 
cited exclamations  of  Professors  Henderson  and 
Roumann. 

"We're  turning  turtle!"  suddenly  yelled  Jack. 
"The  projectile  is  turning  over  in  the  air!  Some- 
thing has  gone  wrong!  Perhaps  this  is  the  re- 
venge of  that  crazy  man!"  and,  as  he  spoke,  he 
fell  over  backward,  Mark  following  him,  while 
the  Annihilator  was  turned  completely  over  and 
seemed  to  be  falling  down  into  unfathomable 
depths. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

AT    THE     MOON 

Confusion  reigned  aboard  the  Annihilator. 
It  had  turned  completely  over,  and  was  now  mov- 
ing through  space  apparently  bottom  side  up.  Of 
course,  being  cigar  shaped,  this  did  not  make  any 
difference  as  far  as  the  exterior  was  concerned, 
but  it  did  make  a  great  difference  to  those  within. 

The  occupants  of  the  great  shell  had  fallen  and 
slid  down  the  rounded  sides  of  the  projectile,  and 
were  now  standing  on  what  had  been  the  ceiling. 
Objects  that  were  not  fast  had  also  followed 
them,  scattering  all  about,  some  narrowly  miss- 
ing hitting  our  friends.  Of  course,  the  machin- 
ery was  now  in  the  air,  over  the  heads  of  the 
travellers. 

This  was  one  of  the  most  serious  phases  of  the 
accident,  for  the  great  Cardite  motor  was  built 
to  run  while  in  the  other  position,  and  when  it  was 
turned  upside  down  it  immediately  stopped,  and 
the  projectile,  deprived  of  its  motive  power,  at 
once  began  falling  through  space. 

146 


AT   THE   MOON  147 

"What  has  happened?  What  caused  it?" 
cried  Mark,  as  he  crawled  over  to  where  Jack 
sat  on  the  ceiling,  with  a  dazed  look  on  his  face. 

"I  don't  know.  Something  went  wrong.  Here 
comes  Professor  Henderson  and  Mr.  Roumann. 
We'll  ask  them." 

The  two  scientists  were  observed  approaching 
from  the  pilot-house.  They  walked  along  what 
had  been  the  ceiling,  and  when  they  came  to  the 
engine  room  they  had  to  climb  over  the  top  part 
of  the  door  frame. 

"What's  wrong?"  asked  Jack. 

"Our  center  of  gravity  has  become  displaced," 
answered  Mr.  Henderson.  "The  gravity  machine 
has  either  broken,  or  some  one  has  been  tamper- 
ing with  it.     Did  either  of  you  boys  touch  it?" 

"No,  indeed!"  cried  Mark,  and  his  chum 
echoed  his  words. 

"I  wonder  if  Washington  could  have  meddled 
with  it?"  went  on  the  scientist. 

At  that  moment  the  colored  cook  came  along, 
making  his  way  cautiously  into  the  engine  room. 
He  was  an  odd  sight.  Bits  of  carrots,  turnips 
and  potatoes  were  in  his  hair,  while  from  one 
ear  dangled  a  bunch  of  macaroni,  and  his  clothes 
were  dripping  wet. 

"My  kitchen  done  turned  upside  down  on  me!" 
wailed  Washington,  "an'  a  whole  kettle  ob  soup 


148  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

emptied  on  my  head!  Oh,  golly!  What  hap- 
pened?" 

The  aged  scientist  looked  toward  the  German. 
The  latter  was  gazing  up  at  the  motionless  Car- 
dite  motor  over  his  head. 

"There  is  but  one  way,"  he  answered.  "We 
must  restore  our  centre  of  gravity  to  where  it  was 
before.     Then  the  projectile  will  right  herself." 

"Can  it  be  done?"  asked  Mark. 

"It  will  be  quite  an  undertaking,  but  we  must 
attempt  it.  Bring  some  tables  and  chairs,  so  I 
can  stand  up  and  reach  the  equilibrium  machine." 

From  where  they  had  fallen  to  the  ceiling, 
which  was  now  the  floor,  Jack  and  Mark  brought 
tables  and  chairs,  and  made  a  sort  of  stepladder. 
On  this  Professor  Roumann  mounted,  and  at  once 
began  the  readjusting  of  the  centre  of  gravity. 

It  was  hard  work,  for  he  had  to  labor  with  his 
arms  stretched  up  in  the  air,  and  any  one  who  has 
even  put  up  pictures  knows  what  that  means.  The 
muscles  are  unaccustomed  to  the  strain.  The 
German  scientist,  though  a  strong  man,  had  to 
rest  at  frequent  intervals. 

"We're  falling  rapidly,"  announced  Jack,  in  a 
low  voice,  as  he  looked  at  the  height  gauge. 

"I  am  doing  all  I  can,"  answered  Mr.  Rou- 
mann. "I  think  I  will  soon  be  able  to  right  the 
craft." 


AT   THE   MOON  149 

He  labored  desperately,  but  he  was  at  a  disad- 
vantage, for  the  Annihilator  was  not  now  mov- 
ing smoothy  through  space.  With  the  stopping 
of  the  motor  she  was  falling  like  some  wobbly 
balloon,  swaying  hither  and  thither  in  the  ether 
currents. 

But  Professor  Roumann  was  not  one  to  give 
up  easily.  He  kept  at  his  task,  aided  occasionally 
by  Professor  Henderson  and  by  the  boys  when- 
ever they  could  do  anything. 

Finally  the  German  cried  out: 

"Ah,  I  have  discovered  the  trouble.  It  is  that 
scoundrel  Axtell!  See!"  And  reaching  into  the 
interior  of  the  machine  he  pulled  out  a  small  mag- 
net. To  it  was  attached  a  card,  on  which  was 
written : 

"I  told  you  I  would  have  my  revenge !"  It  was 
signed  with  Axtell's  name. 

"This  was  the  dastardly  plot  he  evolved,"  said 
Professor  Roumann.  "He  slipped  this  magnet 
into  the  equilibrium  machine,  knowing  that  in 
time  it  would  cause  a  deflection  of  the  delicate 
needles,  and  so  shift  the  centre  of  gravity.  He 
must  have  done  this  as  a  last  resort,  and  to  pro- 
vide for  his  revenge  in  case  we  discovered  him  on 
board  after  we  started.  It  was  a  cruel  revenge, 
for  had  I  not  discovered  it  we  would  soon  all  be 
killed." 


I5(*  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

"Is  the  machine  all  righl,  now?"  asked  Jack. 

"It  will  be  in  a  few  mirltites.  Here,  take  this 
magnet  and  put  it  as  far  uway  from  the  engine 
room  as  possible." 

It  was  the  work  of  but  a  few  minutes,  now  that 
the  disturbing  element  was  removed,  to  readjust 
the  gravity  machine,  and  Mr.  ARoumann  called: 

"Look  out  now,  everybody!  We're  going  to 
turn  right  side  up  again!" 

As  he  spoke  he  turned  a  small  valve  wheel. 
There  was  a  clanging  of  heavy  ballast  weights, 
which  slid  down  their  rods  to  the  proper  place. 
Then,  like  some  great  fish  turning  over  in  the 
water,  the  Annihilator  turned  Over  hi  the  ether, 
and  was  once  more  on  her  proper  keel,  if  such  a 
shaped  craft  can  be  said  to  have  a  keel. 

Of  course,  the  occupants  of  the  projectile  went 
slipping  and  sliding  back,  even  as  they  had  fallen 
ceilingward  before,  but  they  were  prepared  for 
it,  and  no  one  was  hurt.  From  the  galley  came  a 
chorus  of  cries,  as  pots  and  pans  once  more  scat- 
tered about  Washington,  but  there  was  no  more 
soup  to  spill. 

As  soon  as  the  Annihilator  was  righted,  the 
Cardite  motor  began  to  work  automatically,  and 
once  more  the  projectile,  with  the  seekers  oC  the 
moon,  were  shooting  through  space  at  tbnfo;  fc#* 


AT   THE    MOON  151 

mer  speed.  They  had  lost  considerable  distance, 
but  it  was  easy  to  make  it  up. 

"Well,  that  was  an  experience,"  remarked 
Jack,  as  he  and  his  chum  began  picking  up  the 
tools  and  other  objects  that  were  scattered  all 
about  by  the  change  in  equilibrium. 

"I  should  say  yes,"  agreed  Mark.  "I'm  glad 
it  didn't  happen  at  dinner  time.  That  fellow  Ax- 
tell  is  a  fiend  to  think  of  such  a  thing." 

"Indeed,  he  is !  But  we're  all  right  now, 
though  it  did  feel  funny  to  be  turned  upside 
down." 

An  inspection  of  the  projectile  was  made,  but 
they  could  discover  no  particular  damage  done. 
She  seemed  to  be  moving  along  the  same  as  be- 
fore, and,  except  for  the  upsetting  of  things  in 
the  store-room,  it  would  hardly  have  been  known, 
an  hour  later,  that  a  dreadful  accident  was  nar- 
rowly averted. 

Washington  made  more  soup,  and  soon  had  a 
fine  meal  ready,  over  which  the  travellers  dis- 
cussed their  recent  experience. 

"And  when  do  you  think  we  will  arrive?" 
asked  Jack  of  Mr.  Henderson. 

"We  ought  to  be  at  the  moon  inside  of  two 
days  now.  We  have  not  made  quite  the  speed 
we  calculated  on,  but  that  does  not  matter.     I 


152  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

think  we  will  go  even  more  slowly  on  the  remain* 
der  of  the  trip,  as  I  wish  to  take  some  scientific 
observations.'* 

"Yes,  and  so  do  I,"  added  Mr.  Roumann.  "I 
think  if  we  make  fifteen  miles  a  second  from  now 
on  we  will  be  moving  fast  enough." 

Accordingly  the  Cardite  motor  was  slowed 
down,  and  the  projectile  shot  through  space  at 
slightly  reduced  speed,  while  the  two  scientists 
made  several  observations,  and  did  some  intricate 
calculating  about  ether  pressure,  the  distance  of 
heavenly  bodies  and  other  matters  of  interest  only 
to  themselves. 

It  was  on  the  afternoon  of  the  third  day  fol- 
lowing the  turning  turtle  of  the  Annihilator  that 
Mark,  who  was  looking  through  a  telescope  in 
the  pilot-house,  called  out: 

"I  say,  Jack,  look  here !" 

"What's  the  matter?"  asked  his  chum. 

"Why,  we're  rushing  right  at  the  moon!  I  can 
see  the  mountains  and  craters  on  it  as  plain  as 
though  we  were  but  five  miles  away!" 

"Then  we  must  be  nearly  there,"  observed 
Jack.     "Let's  tell  the  others,  Mark." 

They  hurried  to  inform  the  two  professors, 
who  at  once  left  their  tables  of  figures  and  en- 
tered the  steering  chamber.  Then,  after  gazing 
through  the  glass,  Mr.  Henderson  announced : 


AT   THE   MOON  153 

"Friends,  we  will  land  on  the  moon  in  half  an 
hour.    Get  ready." 

"Are  we  really  going  to  be  walking  around  the 
moon  inside  of  thirty  minutes?"  asked  Mark. 

"I  don't  know  about  walking  around  on  it," 
answered  the  German.  "We  first  have  to  see  if 
there  is  an  atmosphere  there  for  us  to  breathe, 
and  whether  the  temperature  is  such  as  we  can 
stand.     But  the  Annihilator  will  soon  be  there." 

The  speed  of  the  Cardite  motor  was  increased, 
and  so  rapidly  did  the  projectile  approach  Luna 
that  glasses  were  no  longer  needed  to  distinguish 
the  surface  of  the  moon. 

There  she  floated  in  space,  a  great,  silent  ball, 
but  not  like  the  earth,  pleasantly  green,  with  lakes 
and  rivers  scattered  about  in  verdant  forests.  No, 
for  the  moon  presented  a  desolate  surface  to  the 
gaze  of  the  travellers.  Great,  rugged  mountain 
peaks  arose  all  about  immense  caverns  that 
seemed  hundreds  of  miles  deep.  The  surface 
was  cracked  and  seamed,  as  if  by  a  moonquake. 
Silence  and  terrible  loneliness  seemed  to  confront 
them. 

"Maybe  it's  better  on  some  other  part  of  the 
surface,"  said  Jack,  in  a  low  voice. 

"Perhaps,"  agreed  Mark.  "It's  certainly  not 
inviting  there." 

Nearer  and  nearer  they  came  to  the  moon.    It 


154  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

no  longer  looked  like  a  great  sphere,  for  they 
were  so  close  that  their  vision  could  only  take  in 
part  of  the  surface,  and  it  began  to  flatten  out, 
as  the  earth  does  to  a  balloonist. 

And  the  nearer  they  came  to  it  the  more  rug- 
ged, the  more  terrible,  the  more  desolate  did  it 
appear.  Would  they  be  able  to  find  a  place  to 
land,  or  would  they  go  hurtling  down  into  some 
awful  crater,  or  be  dashed  upon  the  sharp  peak 
of  some  mountain  of  the  moon? 

It  was  a  momentous  question,  and  anxious  were 
the  faces  of  the  two  professors. 

"Mr.  Henderson,  if  you  will  undertake  to 
steer  to  some  level  place,  I  will  take  charge  of  the 
motor,"  suggested  Mr.  Roumann.  "I  will 
gradually  reduce  the  speed,  and  get  the  repelling 
machine  in  readiness,  so  as  to  render  our  landing 
gentle." 

"Very  well,"  responded  the  aged  scientist,  as  he 
grasped  the  steering  wheel. 

The  progress  of  the  Annihilator  was  gradually 
checked.  More  and  more  slowly  it  approached 
the  moon.  The  mountains  seemed  even  higher 
now,  and  the  craters  deeper. 

"What  a  terrible  place,"  murmured  Jack.  "I 
shouldn't  want  to  live  there." 

"Me  either,"  said  Mark. 

"Can  you  see  a  place  to  land?"  called  Profes- 


AT   THE   MOON  155 

sor  Roumann  through  the  speaking-tube  from  the 
engine  room  to  the  steering  tower. 

"Yes,  we  seem  to  be  approaching  a  fairly  level 
plateau,"  was  Mr.  Henderson's  reply. 

"Very  well,  then,  I'll  start  the  repelling  ma- 
chine." 

The  Cardite  motor  was  stopped.  The  projec- 
tile was  now  being  drawn  toward  the  moon  by  the 
gravity  force  of  the  dead  ball  that  once  had  been 
a  world  like  ours.  Slowly  and  more  slowly  moved 
the  great  projectile. 

There  was  a  moment  of  suspense.  Mr.  Hen- 
derson threw  over  the  steering  wheel.  The  An- 
nihilator  moved  more  slowly.  Then  came  a  gen- 
tle shock.  The  dishes  in  the  galley  rattled,  and 
there  was  the  clank  of  machinery.  The  Shanghai 
rooster  crowed. 

"We're  on  the  moon  at  last!"  cried  Jack,  peer- 
ing from  an  observation  window  at  the  rugged 
surface  outside. 

"Yes;  and  now  to  see  what  it's  like,"  added 
Mark.     "We'll  go  outside,  and " 

"Wait,"  cautioned  Professor  Roumann.  "First 
we  must  see  if  we  can  breathe  on  the  moon,  and 
whether  the  temperature  will  support  life.  I  must 
make  some  tests  before  we  venture  out  of  the  pro- 
jectile." 


CHAPTER  XIX 

TORCHES     OF    LIFE 

The  natural  inclination  of  the  boys  to  rush  out 
on  the  surface  of  the  moon  to  see  what  it  was  like 
was  checked  by  the  words  of  caution  from  Profes- 
sor Roumann. 

"Do  you  think  it  would  be  dangerous  to  ven- 
ture outside  the  projectile?"  asked  Jack,  as  he 
looked  from  the  window  and  noted  the  rugged, 
uneven  surface  of  the  moon. 

"Very  much  so,"  was  the  answer.  "According 
to  most  astronomers,  there  is  absolutely  no  air 
on  the  moon,  also  no  moisture,  and  the  tempera- 
ture is  either  very  high  or  around  the  freezing 
point.     We  must  find  out  what  it  is." 

"How  can  we?"  inquired  Mark. 

"I'll  soon  show  you,"  went  on  the  German. 
"Professor  Henderson,  will  you  kindly  assist 
me." 

When  it  had  been  decided  to  come  to  the  moon 
in  quest  for  the  field  of  diamonds,  certain  changes 
had  been  made  in  the  Annihilator  to  fit  it  for  new 
conditions  that  might  be  met.  One  of  these  con- 
sisted of  an  aperture  in  the  two  sides  of  the  pro- 

156 


TORCHES    OF   LIFE  157 

jectile  permitting  certain  delicate  instruments  to 
be  thrust  out,  so  that  the  conditions  they  indi- 
cated could  be  read  on  dials  or  graduated  scales 
from  within. 

"We  will  first  make  a  test  of  the  temperature," 
said  Mr.  Roumann,  "as  that  will  be  the  easiest." 
Accordingly  a  thermometer  was  put  outside,  and 
those  in  the  air-craft  anxiously  watched  the  red 
column  of  spirits.  The  temperature  was  marked 
as  seventy-five  inside  the  Annihilator,  but  the  ther- 
mometer had  not  been  outside  more  than  a  second 
before  it  began  falling. 

"Good!"  exclaimed  Mr.  Henderson,  as  he 
noted  it.  "The  temperature  is  going  down.  I'd 
rather  have  it  too  cold  than  too  hot.  We  can 
stand  a  minus  fifty  of  cold  better  than  two  hun- 
dred and  twelve  of  heat.  We  have  fur  garments 
with  us." 

"It  is  still  going  down,"  remarked  Jack,  as  he 
saw  the  red  column  drop  down  past  the  thirty 
mark. 

"Below  freezing,"  added  Mark. 

The  spirits  fell  in  the  tube  until  they  touched 
twenty-eight  degrees,  and  there  they  remained. 

"Twenty-eight  degrees,"  remarked  Professor 
Henderson.  "That  isn't  so  bad.  At  least,  we 
can  stand  that  if  we  are  warmly  clad." 

"Yes,  but  it  will  be  colder  to-night,"  said  Jack. 


158  LOST  ON   THE   MOON 

For  they  had  landed  on  the  moon  in  bright  sun- 
light. 

"To-night?"  questioned  the  German  scientist, 
with  a  smile. 

"Yes,  it's  always  colder  when  the  sun  goes 
down,"  went  on  the  lad. 

"You  have  forgotten  one  thing,"  said  Mr. 
Henderson,  with  a  smile  at  his  young  protege. 
"You  must  remember,  Jack,  that  the  nights  and 
days  here  are  each  fourteen  days  long — that  is, 
fourteen  of  our  days." 

"How's  that?"  asked  Jack. 

"Why,"  broke  in  Mark,  who  was  a  trifle  bef» 
ter  student  than  was  his  chum,  "don't  you  remem- 
ber that  the  moon  rotates  on  its  axis  once  a  month, 
or  in  about  twenty-eight  days,  to  be  exact,  and  t»o 
half  of  that  time  is  day  and  half  night,  just  as  on 
our  earth,  when  it  revolves  on  its  axis  in  twenty- 
four  hours,  half  the  time  is  day  and  half  the  time 
is  night." 

"Sure,  I  ought  to  have  remembered,"  declared 
Jack. 

"Mark  is  right,"  added  Mr.  Henderson. 
"And,  as  we  have  most  fortunately  arrived  on  the 
moon  at  the  beginning  of  the  long  day,  we  will 
have  fourteen  days  of  sunshine,  during  which  we 
may  expect  the  temperature  to  remain  at  about 


TORCHES    OF   LIFE  159 

twenty-eight  degrees.  But  now  about  the  atmos- 
phere." 

"We  will  test  that  directly,"  went  on  the  Ger- 
man.    "It  will  take  some  time  longer,  though." 

Various  instruments  were  brought  forth  and 
thrust  out  of  the  opening  in  the  side  of  the  pro- 
jectile, which  opening  was  so  arranged  that  it  was 
closed  hermetically  while  the  instruments  were 
put  forth.  Then  the  readings  of  the  dials  or 
scales  were  taken,  and  computations  made.  In 
fact,  some  of  what  corresponded  to  the  moon's 
atmosphere  was  secured  in  a  hollow  steel  cup 
and  brought  inside  the  Annihilator  for  analysis, 

"Well,"  remarked  Professor  Roumann,  as  he 
bent  over  a  test  tube,  the  contents  of  which  he 
had  put  through  several  processes,  "I  am  afraid 
we  eannot  breathe  on  the  moon." 

"Can't  breathe  on  It?"  gasped  Jack.  "Then  we 
can't  go  out  and  walk  around  it." 

"I  didn't  say  that,"  resumed  the  German,  with 
a  smile.  "I  said  we  couldn't  breathe  the  moon's 
atmosphere.  In  fact  there  is  nothing  there  that 
we  would  call  atmosphere.  There  is  absolutely 
no  oxygen,  and  there  are  a  number  of  poisonous 
gases  that  would  instantly  cause  death  if  inhaled." 

"Then  how  are  we  to  get  out  and  hunt  for 
those  diamonds,  Professor?"  went  on  Jack.  "Gee 


160  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

whiz !  if  I'd  known  that,  I  wouldn't  have  come. 
This  is  tough  luck!" 

"Maybe  the  professor  can  suggest  a  way  out 
of  the  difficulty,  boys,"  spoke  Mr.  Henderson. 
"It  certainly  would  be  too  bad  if,  after  our  peril- 
ous trip,  we  couldn't  get  out  of  our  cage  and  walk 
around  the  moon." 

"I  think  perhaps  I  can  discover  a  way  so  that 
it  will  be  safe  to  venture  forth,"  said  Mr.  Rou- 
mann.  "But  I  must  first  conduct  some  further  ex- 
periments. In  the  meanwhile  suppose  you  boys 
get  out  some  fur-lined  garments,  for,  though  it  is 
only  twenty-eight  degrees,  we  will  need  to  be  well 
clad  after  the  time  spent  inside  this  warm  pro- 
jectile." 

"It  does  look  as  if  he  expected  to  get  us  out," 
remarked  Jack,  as  he  and  his  chum  went  to  where 
Andy  Sudds  was. 

"Yes,  you'll  get  a  chance  to  pick  up  diamonds 
after  all,  Jack.     That  is,  if  there  are  any  here." 

"Of  course  there  are  diamonds.  You  wait  and 
see,"  and  then,  with  the  help  of  the  old  hunter, 
they  took  from  the  store-room  their  fur  garments. 

It  was  half  an  hour  before  the  warm  clothes 
were  sorted  out,  and  then  the  boys  went  back  to 
where  the  two  professors  were. 

"Well,"  asked  Jack  cautiously,  "can  we  go  out- 
side?" 


TORCHES   OF  LIFE  161 

"I  think  so,"  answered  the  German  cheerfully. 
"But  you  must  always  be  careful  to  carry  one  of 
these  with  you,"  and  he  handed  to  each  of  the 
boys  a  steel  rod  about  two  feet  long,  at  the  end 
of  which  was  a  small  iron  box,  with  perforations 
in  the  sides  and  top. 

"What  is  this?"  asked  Jack.  "It  looks  like  a 
magician's  wand." 

"And  that  is  exactly  what  it  is,"  said  Mr.  Hen- 
derson. "As  there  is  no  atmosphere  fit  to  breathe 
on  the  moon,  we  have  been  forced  to  make  our 
own,  boys.  You  each  hold  what  may  be  called 
torches  of  life.  To  venture  out  without  them 
would  mean  instant  death  by  suffocation  or 
poison." 

"And  will  these  save  our  lives?"  asked  Mark. 

"Yes,"  said  Mr.  Roumann.  "In  the  iron  boxes 
on  those  rods  are  certain  chemicals,  rich  in  oxy- 
gen and  other  elements,  which,  when  brought  m 
contact  with  the  gases  on  the  moon,  will  dispel  a 
cloud  of  air  about  whoever  carries  them — air  such 
as  we  find  on  our  earth.  So,  boys,  be  careful 
never  to  venture  out  without  the  torches  of  life. 
I  had  them  prepared  in  anticipation  of  some  such 
emergency  as  this,  and  all  that  was  necessary  was 
to  put  in  the  chemicals.  This  I  have  done,  and 
now,  if  you  wish,  you  may  go  out  and  stroll  about 
the  moon." 


CHAPTER  XX 

ON     THE     EDGE     OF     A     CRATER 

There  was  a  little  hesitation  after  Professor 
Roumann  had  spoken.  Even  though  he  assured 
them  all  that  it  would  be  safe  to  venture  out  on 
the  surface  of  the  moon,  with  its  chilling  tempera- 
ture and  its  poisonous  "atmosphere"  (if  such  it 
can  be  termed),  there  was  an  uncanny  feeling 
about  stepping  forth  into  the  midst  of  the  desola- 
tion that  was  on  every  side. 

For  it  was  desolate — terribly  so !  Not  a  sound 
broke  the  stillness.  There  was  no  life — no  mo- 
tion— as  far  as  could  be  seen.  Not  a  tree  or 
shrub  relieved  the  rugged  monotony  of  the  land- 
scape.    It  was  like  a  dead  world. 

"And  to  think  that  people  may  have  once  lived 
here,"  observed  Jack,  in  a  low  voice. 

"Yes,  and  to  think  that  there  may  be  people  on 
the  other  side  of  the  moon  even  now,"  added 
Mark.     "We  must  take  a  look  if  it's  possible." 

"Well,"  remarked  Mr.  Henderson,  after  a 
while,  "are  we  going  out  and  see  what  it's  like  or 
not." 

162 


ON    THE    EDGE    OF   A    CRATER       163 

"Of  course,  we  are,"  said  Jack.  "Come  on, 
Mark,  I'm  not  afraid." 

"Me  either.  Do  we  have  to  do  anything  to  the 
torches  to  make  them  operate,  Professor  Rou- 
mann?" 

"Merely  press  this  lever,"  and  the  scientist 
showed  them  where  there  was  one  in  the  handle 
of  the  steel  rod.  "As  soon  as  that  is  pressed, 
it  admits  a  liquid  to  the  chemicals  and  the  oxy- 
gen gas  is  formed,  rising  all  around  you,  like  a 
protecting  vapor.     After  that  it  is  automatic." 

"How  long  will  the  supply  of  chemical  last?" 
inquired  Jack. 

"Each  one  is  calculated  to  give  out  gas  for 
nearly  two  weeks,"  was  the  reply;  "possibly  for  a 
little  longer.  But  come,  I  want  to  see  how  they 
work.  Here  is  your  life-torch,  Professor  Hen- 
derson, and  there  is  one  for  you,  too,  Andy,  and 
Washington." 

"  'Scuse  me!"  exclaimed  the  colored  man  hast- 
ily, as  he  started  back  toward  the  kitchen. 

"Why,  what's  the  matter?"  asked  Jack.  "Don't 
you  want  to  go  out,  and  walk  around  the  moon, 
and  pick  up  diamonds?" 

"Diamonds  am  all  right,"  answered  Washing- 
ton, "but  I  jest  done  fo'got  dat  I  ain't  fed  my 
Shanghai  rooster  to-day,  an'  I  'spects  he's  mighty 
hungry.    You  folks  go  on  out  an'  pick  up  a  few  ob 


164  LOST   ON    THE   MOON 

de  sparklers,  an'  when  I  gits  de  Shanghai  fed 
I'll  prognosticate  myse'f  inter  conjunction  wif  yo' 
all." 

"You  mean  you'll  join  us?"  asked  Mark. 

"Dat's  what  I  means,  suah." 

"Why,  I  do  believe  Washington's  afraid!" 
cried  Jack  jokingly. 

"Askeered!  Who's  afraid?"  retorted  the  col- 
ored man  boldly.  "Didn't  I  done  tole  yo'  dat 
I  got  t'  feed  my  rooster?  Heah  him  crowin'  now? 
Yo'  all  go  'long,  an'  I'll  meet  yo'  later,"  and  with 
that  Washington  disappeared  quickly. 

"Well,  he'll  soon  pluck  up  courage  and  come 
out,"  declared  Professor  Henderson.  "Let  him 
go  now,  and  we'll  go  out  and  see  what  it  is  like  on 
the  moon." 

"I  hope  we  find  those  diamonds,"  murmured 
Jack,  and  Mark  smiled. 

In  order  not  to  admit  the  poisonous  gases  into 
the  projectile,  it  was  decided  to  leave  the  Annihil- 
ator  and  return  to  it  by  means  of  a  double  door, 
forming  a  sort  of  air  lock.  It  was  similar  to  the 
water  lock  used  on  the  submarine.  That  is,  the 
adventurers  entered  a  chamber  built  in  between 
the  two  steel  walls  of  their  craft.  The  interior 
door  was  then  sealed  shut  automatically.  Next 
the  outer  door  was  opened,  and  they  could  step 


ON   THE   EDGE   OF   A   CRATER       165 

directly  to  the  surface  of  the  moon  and  into  the 
deadly  atmosphere. 

"Well,  are  we  all  ready?"  asked  Mr.  Rou- 
mann,  as  he  picked  up  one  of  the  chemical  torches. 

"I  guess  so,"  responded  Andy  Sudds,  who  had 
his  gun  with  him.  "I  hope  I  see  some  game.  I 
haven't  had  a  shot  in  a  long  while." 

"You're  not  likely  to  up  here,"  spoke  Mr.  Hen- 
derson. "Game  is  scarce  on  the  moon,  unless  it's 
some  of  that  green  cheese  Washington  talked 
about." 

They  entered  the  air  lock  and  fastened  the  door 
behind  them.  Then  Professor  Roumann  pressed 
on  the  lever  that  swung  open  the  outer  portal. 

"Hold  your  torches  close  to  your  head,"  he 
called.  "The  moon  atmosphere  may  be  too  strong 
for  us  at  first  until  we  create  a  mist  of  oxygen 
about  us." 

Out  upon  the  surface  of  the  moon  they  stepped, 
probably  the  first  earth  beings  so  to  do,  though 
they  had  evidence  that  the  inhabitants  of  Mars 
had  preceded  them. 

For  a  moment  they  all  gasped  for  breath,  but 
only  for  a  moment.  Then  the  gas  began  to  flow 
from  the  life-torches,  and  they  could  breathe  as 
well  as  they  had  done  while  in  the  projectile,  or 
while  on  the  earth. 


166  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

"Well,  if  this  isn't  great!"  cried  Jack,  gazing 
about  him. 

"It  certainly  beats  anything  I  ever  saw,"  came 
from  Mark. 

"Wonderful,  wonderful,"  murmured  Profess 
sor  Henderson.  "We  will  be  able  to  gain  much 
valuable  scientific  knowedge  here,  Professor  Rou- 
mann.    We  must  at  once  begin  our  observations." 

"I  agree  with  you,"  spoke  the  German. 

Andy  Sudds  said  nothing.  He  was  looking 
around  for  a  sight  of  game,  with  his  rifle  in  readi- 
ness.    But  not  a  sign  of  life  met  his  eager  eyes. 

Once  they  were  outside  the  projectile  it  was 
even  more  desolate  than  it  had  seemed  when  they 
looked  from  the  observation  windows.  It  was 
absolutely  still.  Not  a  breath  of  wind  fanned 
their  cheeks,  for  where  there  is  no  air  to  be  heated 
and  cooled  there  could  be  no  wind,  which  is  caused 
by  the  differences  of  temperature  of  the  air,  the 
cold  rushing  in  to  fill  the  vacuum  caused  by  the 
rising  of  the  hot  vapors.  Clad  in  their  fur-lined 
garments,  which  effectually  defied  the  cold,  the 
adventurers  stepped  out. 

Over  the  rugged  ground  they  went,  gazing 
curiously  about  them.  It  was  like  being  in  the 
wildest  part  of  the  Canadian  Rocky  Mountains 
of  our  earth,  and,  in  fact,  the  surface  of  the  moon 
was  not  unlike  the  mountainous  and  hillv  sections 


ON   THE   EDGE   OF   A   CRATER       167 

«f  the  earth.  There  were  no  long  ranges  of  rug- 
ged peaks,  though,  but  rather  scattered  pinnacles 
and  deep  hollows,  great  craters  adjoining  im- 
mense, towering  steeples  of  rocks,  with  compara- 
tively level  ground  in  between. 

The  life-torches  worked  to  perfection.  As  our 
friends  carried  them,  there  arose  about  their 
bodies  a  cloud  of  invisible  vapor,  which,  however, 
was  as  great  a  protection  from  the  poisonous 
gases  as  a  coat  of  mail  would  have  been. 

"This  is  great!"  exclaimed  Jack.  "It's  much 
better  than  to  have  to  put  on  a  diving-suit  and 
carry  a  cylinder  of  oxygen  or  compressed  air 
about  on  our  shoulders." 

They  strolled  away  from  the  projectile  and 
gazed  back  at  it.  Nothing  moved — not  a  sound 
broke  the  stillness.  There  was  only  the  blazing 
sunlight,  which,  however,  did  not  seem  to  warm 
the  atmosphere  much,  for  it  was  very  chilly.  On 
every  side  were  great  rocks,  rugged  and  broken, 
with  here  and  there  immense  fissures  in  the  sur- 
face of  the  moon,  fissures  that  seemed  miles  ai?d 
miles  long. 

"Well,  here's  where  I  look  for  diamonds," 
called  Jack,  as  he  stepped  boldly  out,  followed  by 
Mark.     "Let's  see  who'll  find  the  first  sparkler." 

"All  right,"  agreed  his  chum,  and  they  strolled 
away  together,  slightly  in  advance  of  the  two  pro- 


i68  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

fessors  and  Andy,  who  remained  together,  the 
scientist  discussing  the  phenomena  on  every  side 
and  the  hunter  looking  in  vain  for  something  to 
shoot.     But  he  had  come  to  a  dead  world. 

Almost  before  they  knew  it  Jack  and  Mark 
had  gone  on  quite  some  distance.  Though  they 
were  not  aware  of  it  at  that  moment,  it  was  much 
easier  to  walk  on  the  moon  than  it  was  on  the 
earth,  for  they  weighed  only  one  sixth  as  much, 
and  the  attraction  of  gravitation  was  so  much 
less. 

But  suddenly  Jack  remembered  that  curious 
fact,  and,  stooping,  he  picked  up  a  stone.  He 
cast  it  from  him,  at  the  same  time  uttering  a  yell. 

"What's  the  matter?"  called  Mark. 

"Look  how  far  I  fired  that  rock!"  shouted 
Jack.  "Talk  about  it  being  easy!  why,  I  believe 
I  could  throw  a  mile  if  I  tried  hard !" 

"It  goes  six  times  as  far  as  it  would  on  the 
earth,"  spoke  his  chum,  "and  we  can  also  jump 
six  times  as  far." 

"Then  let's  try  that !"  proposed  Jack.  "There's 
a  nice  level  place  over  there.  Come  on,  I'll  wager 
that  I  can  beat  you." 

"Done !"  agreed  Mark,  and  they  hurried  to  the 
spot,  their  very  walking  being  much  faster  than 
usual. 

"I'll  go  first,"  proposed  Jack,  "and  you  see 


ON   THE   EDGE   OF   A   CRATER       169 

if  you  can  come  up  to  me."  He  poised  himself 
on  a  little  hummock  of  rock,  balanced  himself  for 
a  moment,  and  then  hurled  himself  through 
space. 

Prepared  as  he  was,  in  a  measure,  for  some- 
thing strange,  he  never  bargained  for  what  hap- 
pened. It  was  as  if  he  had  been  fired  from  some 
catapult  of  the  ancient  Romans.  Through  the  air 
he  hurtled,  like  some  great  flying  animal,  cover- 
ing fifty  feet  from  a  standing  jump. 

"Say,  that's  great!"  yelled  Mark.  "Here  I 
come,  and  I'll  beat " 

He  did  not  finish,  for  a  cry  of  horror  came 
from  Jack. 

"I'm  going  to  fall  into  a  crater — a  bottomless 
pit!  I'm  on  the  edge  of  it!"  yelled  the  lad  who 
had  jumped. 

And,  with  horror-stricken  eyes,  Mark  saw  his 
chum  disappear  from  sight  beyond  a  pile  of  rug- 
ged rocks,  toward  which  he  had  leaped.  The 
last  glimpse  Mark  had  was  of  the  life-torch, 
which  Jack  held  up  in  the  air,  close  to  his  head. 

"Jack — in  a  crater!"  gasped  Mark,  as  he  ran 
forward,  holding  his  own  life-torch  close  to  his 
mouth  and  nose. 


CHAPTER    XXI 

WASHINGTON   SEES   A   GHOST 

Advancing  by  leaps  and  bounds,  and  getting 
over  the  ground  in  a  manner  most  surprising, 
Mark  soon  found  himself  on  the  edge  of  the 
great,  yawning  crater,  into  which  his  chum  Jack 
had  started  to  slide.  I  say  started,  for,  fortu- 
nately, the  lad  had  been  saved  from  death  but  by 
a  narrow  margin. 

As  Mark  gazed  down  into  the  depths,  which 
seemed  fathomless,  and  which  were  as  black  as 
night,  he  saw  his  friend  clinging  to  a  rocky  projec- 
tion on  the  side  of  the  extinct  volcano.  Jack  had 
managed  to  grasp  a  part  of  the  rough  surface  as 
he  slid  down  it  after  his  reckless  jump.  He  looked 
up  and  saw  Mark. 

"Oh,  Mark,  can't  you  save  me?"  he  gasped. 
"Call  Professor  Henderson!" 

"I'll  get  you  up,  don't  worry!"  called  Mark, 
as  confidently  as  he  could.  "Hold  tight,  Jack. 
What  has  become  of  your  life-torch?" 

"I  have  it  here  by  me.  I  didn't  drop  it,  and  it's 
on  a  piece  of  the  rock  near  my  head.  Otherwise  I 

170 


WASHINGTON    SEES   A   GHOST       171 

couldn't  breathe.  Oh,  this  place  is  fearfully  deep. 
I  guess  it  hasn't  any  bottom." 

"Now,  keep  still,  and  don't  think  about  that. 
Save  your  strength,  hold  fast,  and  I'll  get  you 
up." 

But,  having  said  that  much,  Mark  was  not  so 
sure  how  next  to  proceed.  It  was  going  to  be  no 
easy  task  to  haul  up  Jack,  and  that  without  ropes 
or  other  apparatus.  Another  matter  that  added 
to  the  danger  was  the  necessity  of  keeping  the  life- 
torch  close  to  one's  face  in  order  to  prevent  death 
by  the  poisonous  gases. 

Mark's  first  impulse  was  to  hasten  back  and 
call  the  two  professors,  but  he  looked  over  the 
desolate  landscape,  and  could  not  see  them,  and 
he  feared  that  if  he  went  away  Jack  might  slip 
and  fall  into  the  unknown  depths  of  the  crater. 

"I've  got  to  get  him  out  alone,"  decided  Mark. 
"But  how  can  I  do  it?" 

He  crawled  cautiously  nearer  to  the  edge  of 
the  extinct  volcano  and  looked  down.  A  few  loose 
stones,  dislodged  by  his  weight,  rattled  down  the 
sides. 

"Look  out!"  cried  Jack  quickly,  "or  you'll  fall, 
too!" 

"I'll  be  careful,"  answered  Mark,  and  then  he 
drew  away  out  of  danger,  with  a  queer  feeling 
about  his  heart,  which  was  beating  furiously. 


172  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

Mark  had  hoped  to  be  able  to  make  his  way 
down  the  side  of  the  crater  to  where  his  chum 
was  and  help  him  up.  But  a  look  at  the  steep 
sides  and  the  uncertain  footing  afforded  by  the 
loose  rocks  of  lava-like  formation  showed  that 
this  could  not  be  done. 

"I've  got  to  think  of  a  different  scheme,"  de- 
cided Mark,  and,  spurred  on  by  the  necessity  of 
acting  quickly  if  he  was  to  save  Jack,  he  fairly 
forced  his  brain  to  work.  For  he  saw  by  the 
strained  look  on  his  chum's  face  that  Jack  could 
not  hold  out  much  longer. 

"I  have  it!"  cried  Mark  at  length.  "My  fur 
coat!  I  can  cut  it  into  strips  of  hide  and  make  a 
rope.  Then  I  can  lower  it  down  to  Jack  and  haul 
him  up." 

He  did  not  think,  for  the  moment,  of  the  cold 
he  would  feel  when  he  stripped  off  the  fur  gar- 
ment, and  when  it  did  come  to  him  in  a  flash  he 
never  hesitated. 

"After  all,  I've  often  been  out  without  an  over- 
coat on  cold  days,"  he  said  to  himself.  "I  guess 
I  can  stand  it  for  a  while,  and  when  Jack  is  up  I 
can  run  back  to  the  projectile  and  keep  warm 
that  way." 

To  think  was  to  act,  and  Mark  laid  down  his 
life-torch  to  take  off  the  big  fur  coat.  The  next 
instant  he  had  toppled  over,  almost  in  a  faint, 


WASHINGTON    SEES   A   GHOST       173 

and,  had  he  not  fallen  so  that  his  head  was  near 
the  small  perforated  box  on  the  end  of  the  steel 
rod,  whence  came  the  life-giving  gas,  the  lad 
might  have  died. 

He  had  forgotten,  for  the  instant,  the  neces- 
sity of  always  keeping  the  torch  close  to  his  face 
to  prevent  the  poisonous  gases  of  the  moon  from 
overpowering  him.  Mark  soon  revived  while 
lying  on  the  ground,  and,  rising,  with  his  torch  in 
his  hand,  he  looked  about  him. 

"I've  got  to  have  my  two  hands  to  work  with," 
he  mused,  "and  yet  I've  got  to  hold  this  torch  close 
to  my  face.  Say,  a  fellow  ought  to  have  three 
hands  if  he's  going  to  visit  the  moon.  What  can 
I  do?" 

In  an  instant  a  plan  came  to  him.  He  thrust 
the  pointed  end  of  the  steel  rod  in  the  crevice  of 
some  rocks,  and  it  stood  upright,  so  that  the  per- 
forated box  of  chemicals  was  on  a  level  with  his 
face. 

"There,"  said  Mark  aloud,  "I  guess  that  will 
work.  I  can  use  both  my  hands  now."  The  plan 
was  a  good  one.  Next,  taking  off  his  coat,  the  lad 
proceeded  to  cut  it  into  strips,  working  rapidly. 
He  called  to  Jack  occasionally,  bidding  him  keep 
up  his  courage.  "I'll  soon  have  you  out,"  he  said 
cheeringly. 

In  a  few  minutes  Mark  had  a  long,  stout  strip 


174  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

of  hide,  and,  taking  his  life-tore!^ with  him,  he 
advanced  once  more  to  the  edge  of  the  crater. 
He  stuck  the  torch  in  between  some  rocks,  as 
before,  and  looked  down  at  Jack. 

"I — I  can't  hold  on  much  longer,"  gasped  the 
unfortunate  lad.     "Hurry,  Mark!" 

"All  right.  I'm  going  to  haul  you  up  now. 
Can  you  hold  on  with  one  hand  long  enough  to 
slip  the  loop  of  this  rope  over  your  shoulders?" 

"I  guess  so.     But  where  did  you  get  a  rope?" 

"I  made  it — cut  up  my  fur  coat." 

"But  you'll  freeze!" 

"Oh,  I  guess  not.  Here  it  comes,  Jack.  Get 
ready!" 

Mark  lowered  the  hide  rope  to  his  chum.  The 
latter,  who  managed  to  get  one  toe  on  a  small, 
projecting  rock,  while  he  held  on  with  his  right 
hand,  used  his  left  to  adjust  the  loop  over  his 
shoulders  and  under  his  arms. 

"Are  you  all  ready?"  asked  Mark. 

"Yes,  but  can  you  pull  me  up?" 

"Sure.  I'm  six  times  as  strong  as  when  on  the 
earth.  Hold  steady  now,  and  keep  the  torch 
close  to  your  face." 

Mark  had  placed  some  pieces  of  his  fur  coat 
under  the  rope  where  it  passed  over  the  edge  of 
the  mouth  of  the  crater  to  prevent  the  jagged 
rocks  from  cutting  the  strips  of  hide. 


WASHINGTON    SEES   A    GHOST       175 

"Here  youTome !"  he  cried  to  Jack,  and  he  began 
to  haul,  taking  care  to  keep  his  own  head  near  his 
torch,  which  was  stuck  upright.  Mark  had  spoken 
truly  when  he  said  he  possessed  much  more  than 
his  usual  strength.  Any  one  who  has  tried  to  haul 
up  a  person  with  a  rope  from  a  hole,  and  with  no 
pulleys  to  adjust  the  strain  of  the  cable,  knows 
what  a  task  it  is.  But  to  Mark,  on  the  moon, 
it  was  comparatively  easy. 

Hand  over  hand  he  pulled  on  the  hide  rope 
until,  with  a  final  heave,  he  had  Jack  out  of  his 
perilous  position.  He  had  pulled  him  up  from  the 
mouth  of  the  crater,  and  the  thick  fur  coat  Jack 
wore  had  prevented  the  sharp  rocks  from  injur- 
ing him.  In  another  moment  he  stood  beside 
Mark,  a  trifle  weak  and  shaky  from  his  experi- 
ence, but  otherwise  unhurt. 

"How  did  you  happen  to  go  down  there?" 
asked  Mark. 

"Not  from  choice,  I  assure  you,"  answered 
Jack.  "I  couldn't  see  the  crater  when  I  jumped, 
as  it  was  hidden  by  some  rocks,  and  I  was  into  it 
before  I  knew  it.  But  don't  stand  talking  here. 
Put  on  my  coat.     I  don't  need  it.     I'm  warm." 

"I  will  not.  I'm  not  a  bit  cold.  But  we  may 
as  well  get  back  to  the  projectile,  for  they'll  be 
worrying  about  us."  Thereupon  Mark  broke  into 
a  run,  for,  now  that  the  exertion  of  hauling  up 


176  LOST  ON   THE   MOON 

Jack  was  over,  he  began  to  feel  cool,  and  the  chill- 
ing atmosphere  of  the  moon  struck  through  to  his 
bones. 

In  a  short  time  the  two  lads  were  back  at  the 
Annihilator ,  where  they  found  Professors  Rou- 
mann  and  Henderson  getting  a  bit  anxious  about 
them.  Their  adventure  was  quickly  related,  and 
the  boys  were  cautioned  to  be  more  careful  in  the 
future. 

"This  moon  is  a  curious,  desolate  place,"  said 
Mr.  Henderson,  "and  you  can't  behave  on  it  as 
you  would  on  the  earth.  We  have  discovered 
some  curious  facts  regarding  it,  and  when  we  get 
back  I  am  going  to  write  a  book  on  them.  But  I 
think  we  have  seen  enough  for  the  present,  so 
we'll  stay  in  the  rest  of  the  day  and  plan  for 
further  trips." 

"Aren't  we  going  to  look  for  those  diamonds?" 
asked  Jack,  who  had  almost  fully  recovered  from 
his  recent  experience. 

"Oh,  yes,  we  will  look  around  for  them,"  as- 
sented Mr.  Roumann.  "I  think,  after  a  day  or 
so,  we  will  move  our  projectile  to  another  part  of 
the  moon.  We  want  to  see  as  much  of  it  as 
possible." 

They  sat  discussing  various  matters,  and,  while 
doing  so,  Washington  White  peered  into  the  liv- 
ing cabin. 


WASHINGTON    SEES  A   GHOST       177 

"Has  yo'  got  one  ob  dem  torch-light  proces- 
sions t'  spare?"  he  asked. 

"Torch-light  processions?"  queried  Mark. 
"What  do  you  think  this  is,  an  election,  Wash?" 

"I  guess  he  means  a  life-torch,"  suggested  Jack. 
"Are  you  going  out,  Wash?" 

"Yais,  sah,  I  did  think  I'd  take  a  stroll  around. 
Maybe  I  kin  find  a  diamond  fo'  my  tie." 

Laughing,  Jack  provided  the  colored  man  with 
one  of  the  torches,  instructing  him  how  to  use  it, 
and  presently  Washington  was  seen  outside,  walk- 
ing gingerly  around,  as  though  he  expected  to  go 
through  the  crust  of  the  moon  any  moment. 
Pretty  soon,  however,  he  got  more  courage  and 
tramped  boldly  along,  peering  about  on  the 
ground  for  all  the  world,  as  Mark  said,  as  if 
he  was  looking  for  chestnuts. 

They  paid  no  attention  to  the  cook  for  some 
little  time  until,  when  the  boys  and  the  two  pro- 
fessors were  in  the  midst  of  a  discussion  as  to 
where  would  be  the  best  place  to  move  the  pro- 
jectile next,  they  heard  him  running  along  the  cor- 
ridor toward  the  cabin. 

"Wash  is  in  a  hurry,"  observed  Jack. 

The  next  instant  they  sprang  to  their  feet  at 
the  sight  of  the  frightened  face  of  the  colored 
man  peering  in  on  them.     He  was  as  near  white 


178  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

as  a  negro  can  ever  be,  which  is  a  sort  of  chalk 
color,  and  his  eyes  were  wide  open  with  fear. 

"What's  the  matter?"  asked  Jack. 

"A  ghost!  I  done  seen  de  ghost  ob  a  dead 
man!"  gasped  the  colored  man. 

"A  ghost?"  repeated  Mark. 

"Yais,  sah,  right  out  yeah !  He's  lyin'  down  in 
a  hole — a  dead  man.  Golly!  but  I'se  a  scared 
coon,  I  is !"  and  Washington  looked  over  his 
shoulder  as  though  he  feared  the  "ghost"  had 
followed  him. 


CHAPTER   XXII 

A     BREAKDOWN 

At  first  they  were  inclined  to  regard  the  an- 
nouncement of  Washington  lightly,  but  the  too 
evident  fright  of  the  colored  man  showed  that 
there  was  some  basis  for  his  fear. 

"Tell  us  just  what  you  saw,  and  where  it  was," 
said  Mr.  Henderson.  "Was  the  man  alive,  Wash- 
ington?" 

"No,  sah.  How  could  a  ghost  be  alive?  Dey 
is  all  dead  ones,  ghosts  am!" 

"There  are  no  such  things  as  ghosts,"  said  Mr. 
Henderson  sternly. 

"Den  how  could  I  see  one?"  demanded  the  cook 
triumphantly,  as  if  there  was  no  further  argu- 
ment. 

"Well,  tell  us  about  it,"  suggested  Jack. 

"It  were  jest  dis  way,"  began  Washington  ear- 
nestly, and  with  occasional  glances  over  his  shoul- 
der, "I  were  walkin'  along,  sort  ob  lookin'  fer 
dem  sparklin'  diamonds,  an'  I  didn't  see  none, 
179 


l8o  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

when  all  on  a  suddint  I  looked  down  in  a  hole, 
and  dere  I  seen  HIM !"  and  he  brought  out  the 
word  with  a  jerk. 

"Saw  what — who?"  asked  Mr.  Roumann. 

"De  ghost — de  dead  man.  He  were  lyin'  all 
curled  up,  laik  he  were  asleep,  an'  when  I  seed 
him,  I  didn't  stop  t'  call  him  t'  dinner,  yo'  can 
make  up  yo'  minds  t'  dat  all." 

"Can  you  show  us  the  place?"  inquired  Jack. 

"Yais,  sah,  massa  Jack,  dat's  what  I  kin.  I'll 
point  it  out  from  dish  yeah  winder,  but  I  ain't 
g'wine  dar  ag'in;  no,  sah,  'scuse  me!" 

"Well,  show  us  then,"  suggested  Mark.  "I 
wonder  what  it  can  be  ?"  he  went  on. 

"Maybe  one  of  the  people  who  came  from 
Mars  after  the  diamonds,  who  was  forgotten 
and  left  here,  and  who  died,"  said  Jack. 

"It's  possible,"  murmured  Mr.  Henderson. 
"However,  we'll  go  take  a  look.  Get  on  your  fur 
coats,  boys,  and  take  the  life-torches.  Will  you 
come,  Andy?" 

"Sure.  It's  got  to  be  more  than  a  ghost  to 
scare  me,"  said  the  hunter. 

They  emerged  from  the  projectile  and  walked 
in  the  direction  Washington  had  pointed,  holding 
their  gas  torches  near  their  heads  and  talking  of 
what  they  might  see. 

"This  will  be  evidence  in  favor  of  my  diamond 


A   BREAKDOWN  181 

theory,"  declared  Jack.  "It  shows  that  the  Mar- 
tians were  here." 

"Wait  and  see  what  it  is,"  suggested  his  chum. 

They  walked  along  a  short  distance  farther, 
and  then  Mark  spoke. 

"That  ought  to  be  the  place  over  there,"  he 
said,  pointing  to  a  depression  between  two  tall 
pinnacles  of  black  rock. 

Jack  sprang  forward,  and  a  moment  later  ut- 
tered a  cry  of  astonishment. 

"Here  it  is !"  he  called.    "A  dead  man !" 

"A  dead  man?"  echoed  Professor  Henderson. 

"A  petrified  man,"  added  Jack,  in  awe-struck 
tones.    "He's  turned  to  stone." 

A  few  seconds  later  they  were  all  grouped 
around  the  strange  object — it  was  a  man  no 
longer,  but  had  once  been  one.  It  was  a  petrified 
human  being,  a  full-grown  man,  to  judge  by  the 
size,  and  it  was  a  solid  image  in  stone,  even  the 
garments  with  which  he  had  been  clothed  being 
turned  to  rock. 

For  a  moment  no  one  spoke,  and  they  gazed  in 
silence  at  what  was  an  evidence  of  former  life  on 
the  moon.  The  man  was  huddled  up,  with  the 
knees  drawn  toward  the  stomach  and  the  arms 
bent  around  the  body,  as  if  the  man  had  died  in 
agony.  The  features  were  scarcely  distinguish- 
able. 


182  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

"That  man  was  never  an  inhabitant  of  Mars,* 
spoke  Professor  Henderson,  in  a  low  voice.  "He 
is  much  too  large,  and  he  has  none  of  the  char- 
acteristics of  the  Martians." 

"I  agree  with  you,"  came  from  Mr.  Roumann, 

"Then  who  is  he?"  asked  Jack. 

"I  think,"  said  the  aged  scientist,  "that  we  are 
now  gazing  on  all  that  was  once  mortal  of  one  of 
the  inhabitants  of  the  moon." 

"An  inhabitant  of  the  moon?"  gasped  Mark. 

"Yes;  why  not?"  went  on  Mr.  Henderson.  "I 
believe  the  moon  was  once  a  planet  like  our  earth 
— perhaps  even  a  part  of  it,  and  I  think  that  it 
was  inhabited.  In  time  it  cooled  so  that  life  could 
no  longer  be  supported,  or,  at  least,  this  side  of 
the  moon  presents  that  indication.  The  people 
were  killed — frozen  to  death,  and  by  reason  of 
the  chemical  action  of  the  gases,  or  perhaps  from 
the  moon  being  covered  with  water  in  which  was 
a  large  percentage  of  lime,  they  were  turned  to 
stone.    That  is  what  happened  to  this  poor  man." 

''Such  a  thing  is  possible,"  admitted  Professor 
Roumann  gravely. 

And,  indeed,  it  is,  as  the  writer  can  testify,  for 
in  the  Metropolitan  Museum  in  New  York  there 
are  the  remains  of  an  ancient  South  American 
miner,  whose  body  has  been  turned  into  solid 
copper.     The  corpse,  of  which  the  features  are 


A   BREAKDOWN  183 

partly  distinguishable,  was  found  four  hundred 
feet  down  in  an  old  copper  mine,  where  the  drip- 
ping from  hidden  springs,  the  waters  of  which 
were  rich  in  copper  sulphate,  had  converted  the 
man's  body  into  a  block  of  metal,  retaining  its 
natural  shape.  The  body  is  drawn  up  in  agony, 
and  there  is  every  indication  that  the  man  was 
killed  by  a  cave-in  of  the  mine.  Some  of  his  tools 
were  found  near  him. 

They  remained  gazing  at  the  weird  sight  of  the 
petrified  man  for  some  time. 

uThen  the  moon  was  once  inhabited?"  asked 
Jack  at  length. 

"I  believe  so — yes,"  answered  Professor  Hen- 
derson. 

"Then  where  are  the  other  people?"  asked 
Mark.  "There  must  be  more  than  one  left.  Why 
was  this  man  off  here  alone?" 

"We  don't  know,"  responded  the  German  sci- 
entist. "Perhaps  he  was  off  alone  in  the  moun- 
tains when  death  overtook  him,  or  perhaps  all 
his  companions  were  buried  under  an  upheaval  of 
rock.     We  can  only  theorize." 

"It  will  be  something  else  to  put  in  the  book 
I  am  to  write,"  said  Mr.  Henderson.  "But,  now 
that  we  have  evidence  of  former  life  on  the  moon, 
we  must  investigate  further.  We  will  make  an 
attempt  to  go  to  the  other  side  of  the  country, 


184  LOST   ON    THE   MOON 

and  to  that  end  I  suggest  that  we  set  our  projec- 
tile in  motion  and  travel  a  bit.  There  is  little 
more  to  see  here." 

This  plan  met  with  general  approval,  and,  after 
some  photographs  had  been  taken  of  the  petrified 
man,  and  the  professors  had  made  notes,  and  set 
down  data  regarding  him,  and  had  tried  to  guess 
how  long  he  had  been  dead,  they  went  back  to 
the  Annihilator. 

"Well,  did  yo'  all  see  him?"  asked  Wash- 
ington. 

"We  sure  did,"  answered  Jack.  "You  weren't 
mistaken  that  time." 

They  got  ready  to  move  the  projectile,  but  de- 
cided to  remain  over  night  where  they  were. 
"Over  night"  being  the  way  they  spoke  of  it, 
though,  as  I  have  said,  there  was  perpetual  day- 
light for  fourteen  days  at  a  time  on  the  moon. 

Professors  Roumann  and  Henderson  made  a 
few  more  observations  for  scientific  purposes. 
They  found  traces  of  some  vegetation,  but  it  was 
of  little  value  for  food,  even  to  the  lower  forms 
of  animal  life,  they  decided.  There  was  also  a 
little  moisture  noticed  at  certain  hours  of  the  day. 
But,  in  the  main,  the  place  where  they  had  landed 
was  most  desolate. 

"I  hope  we  get  to  a  better  place  soon,"  said 


A   BREAKDOWN  185 

Jack,  just  before  they  sealed  themselves  up  in  the 
projectile  to  travel  to  a  new  spot. 

As  distance  was  comparatively  small  on  the 
moon,  for  her  diameter  is  only  a  little  over  two 
thousand  miles  and  the  circumference  only  about 
six  thousand  six  hundred  miles,  the  Annihilator 
could  not  be  speeded  up.  If  it  went  too  fast,  it 
would  soon  be  off  the  moon  and  into  space  again. 

Accordingly  the  Cardite  motor  was  geared  to 
send  the  big  craft  along  at  about  forty  miles  an 
hour,  and  at  times  they  went  even  slower  than 
that,  when  they  were  passing  over  some  part  of 
the  surface  which  the  professors  wished  to  photo- 
graph or  observe  closely. 

They  did  not  rise  high  into  the  air,  but  flew 
along  at  an  elevation  of  about  two  hundred  feet, 
steering  in  and  out  to  avoid  the  towering  peaks 
scattered  here  and  there.  Occasionally  they  found 
themselves  over  immense  craters  that  seemed  to 
have  no  bottom. 

For  two  days  they  moved  here  and  there,  find- 
ing no  further  signs  of  life,  neither  petrified  nor 
natural,  though  they  saw  many  strange  sights,  and 
some  valuable  pictures  and  scientific  data  was 
obtained. 

It  was  on  the  third  day,  when  they  were  ap- 
proaching the  side  of  the  moon  which  from  time 


186  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

immemorial  has  been  hidden  from  view  of  the 
inhabitants  of  the  earth,  that  Jack,  who  was  with 
Mark  in  the  engine  room,  while  the  two  profes- 
sors were  in  the  pilot-house,  remarked  to  his 
chum: 

"Mark,  doesn't  it  strike  you  that  the  water 
pump  and  the  air  apparatus  aren't  working  just 
right?" 

"They  don't  seem  to  be  operating  very 
smoothly,"  admitted  Mark,  after  an  examination. 

"That's  what  I  thought.  Let's  call  Mr.  Hen- 
derson.    The  machinery  may  need  adjusting." 

Jack  started  from  the  engine  room  to  do  this, 
and  as  he  paused  on  the  threshold  there  was  a 
sudden  crash.  Part  of  the  air  pump  seemed  to 
fly  off  at  a  tangent,  and  a  second  later  had 
smashed  down  on  the  Cardite  motor.  This 
stopped  in  an  instant,  and  the  projectile  began 
falling.  Fortunately  it  was  but  a  short  distance 
above  the  moon's  surface,  and  came  down  with 
a  jar,  which  did  not  injure  the  travellers. 

But  there  was  sufficient  damage  done  to  the 
machinery,  for  with  the  breaking  of  the  air  pump 
the  water  apparatus  also  went  out  of  commission, 
and  together  with  the  breakdown  of  the  Cardite 
motor  had  fairly  stalled  the  Annihilator. 

"What's  the  matter?"  cried  Professor  Hender- 
son, running  in  from  the  pilot-house,  for  an  auto- 


A   BREAKDOWN  187 

matic  signal  there  had  apprised  him  that  some- 
thing was  wrong. 

"There's  a  bad  break,"  said  Jack  ruefully. 

"A  bad  break!  I  should  say  there  was,"  re- 
marked the  scientist.  "I  think  we'll  have  to  lay 
up  for  repairs."    And  he  called  Mr.  Roumann. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

LOST   ON  THE   MOON 

Notwithstanding  that  they  were  somewhat 
accustomed  to  having  accidents  happen,  it  was 
not  with  the  most  pleasant  feelings  in  the  world 
that  the  moon  travellers  contemplated  this  one. 
It  meant  a  delay,  and  a  delay  was  the  one  thing 
they  did  not  want  just  now. 

They  desired  to  get  to  the  other  side  of  the 
moon  while  the  long  period  of  sunshine  gave 
them  an  opportunity  for  observation.  True 
there  was  some  time  yet  ere  the  long  night  of 
fourteen  days  would  settle  down,  but  they  felt 
that  they  would  need  every  hour  of  sunshine. 

"Well,  it's  tough  luck,  but  it  can't  be  helped," 
said  Mark. 

"No,  let's  get  right  to  work,"  suggested  Jack. 

They  got  out  their  tools  and  started  to  repair 
the  two  pumps.  It  was  found  that  the  Cardite 
motor  was  not  badly  damaged,  one  of  the  nega- 
tive electrical  plates  merely  having  been  smashed 

m 


LOST   ON   THE   MOON  189 

by  a  piece  of  the  broken  connecting  rod  of  the  air 
pump.  It  was  only  a  short  time  before  the  mo- 
tor was  ready  to  run  again. 

But  it  could  not  be  successfully  operated  with- 
out the  air  and  water  pumps,  and  it  was  neces- 
sary to  fix  them  next.  New  gaskets  were  needed, 
while  an  extra  valve  and  some  sliding  gears  had 
to  be  replaced. 

"It's  an  all  day's  job,"  remarked  Professor 
Henderson. 

But  many  hands  made  light  work,  and  even 
Washington  and  Andy  were  called  upon  to  do 
their  share.  By  dinner  time  the  work  was  more 
than  half  done,  and  Professor  Roumann  an- 
nounced that  he  and  Mr.  Henderson  would  finish 
it  if  Jack  and  Mark  would  take  a  look  at  the 
exterior  of  the  projectile,  to  see  if  any  repairs 
were  needed  to  that. 

The  boys  found  that  some  of  the  exterior 
piping  had  become  loosed  at  the  joints,  because 
of  the  jar  of  the  sudden  descent,  and,  taking  the 
necessary  tools  outside,  while  they  stuck  their 
life-torches  upright  near  them,  they  labored  away. 

At  four  o'clock  the  two  lads  had  their  task 
completed,  and  at  the  same  time  Professor  Hen- 
derson announced  that  the  air  and  water  pumps 
were  now  in  good  shape  again. 

"Then  let's  get  under  way  at  once,"  suggested 


190  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

Mr.  Roumann.  "We  have  lost  enough  time  as  it 
is.     Hurry  inside,  boys,  and  we'll  start." 

The  two  chums  were  glad  enough  to  do  so,  and 
in  a  few  minutes  they  were  again  moving 
through  the  air  toward  the  unknown  portion  of 
the  moon. 

Below  the  travellers,  as  they  could  see  by  look- 
ing down  through  a  plate-glass  window  in  the 
floor  of  the  projectile,  were  the  same  rugged 
peaks,  the  same  large  and  small  craters  that  had 
marked  the  surface  of  the  moon  from  the  time 
they  had  first  had  a  glimpse  of  it.  There  was  an 
uninteresting  monotony  about  it,  unrelieved  by 
any  save  the  very  sparest  vegetation. 

"I  am  beginning  to  think  more  and  more  that  we 
will  find  people  on  the  other  side  of  this  globe," 
remarked  Mr.  Roumann,  as  he  made  an  observa- 
tion through  a  telescope. 

"What  strengthens  your  belief?"  inquired  Mr. 
Henderson. 

"The  fact  that  the  vegetation  is  growing 
thicker.  There  are  many  more  plants  below  us 
now  than  there  were  before.  This  part  of  the 
moon  is  better  able  to  support  life  than  the  por- 
tion we  have  just  come  from." 

This  seemed  to  be  so,  but  they  were  still  some 
distance  from  the  opposite  side  of  the  moon. 

"I  don't  see  anything  of  those  diamonds  you 


LOST   ON   THE   MOON  191 

talked  so  much  about,  Jack,"  said  Mark,  with  a 
smile,  a  little  later.  "I  guess  all  the  Reonaris  you 
get  you  can  put  in  a  hollow  tooth." 

"You  wait,"  was  all  Jack  replied. 

The  projectile  was  slowed  up  to  permit  the  two 
professors  to  make  some  notes  regarding  a  par- 
ticularly large  and  deep  crater,  and  a  few  min- 
utes later  when  Mark,  who  was  in  the  engine 
room,  attempted  to  speed  up  the  Cardite  motor  it 
would  not  respond. 

"Humph!  I  wonder  what's  wrong?"  he  asked 
of  Jack. 

"Better  call  Mr.  Roumann,  and  not  try  to 
fix  it  yourself,"  suggested  his  chum,  when,  in  re- 
sponse to  various  movements  of  the  lever,  the  ma- 
chine seemed  to  go  slower  and  slower. 

The  German  came  in  answer  to  the  summons. 

"Ha  I"  he  exclaimed,  "that  motor  is  broken 
again.  We  shall  have  to  stop  once  more  for  re- 
pairs. I  shall  need  to  take  it  all  apart,  I  fear. 
Get  me  the  negative  plate  remover,  will  you, 
Mark?" 

The  lad  went  to  the  tool  chest  for  it.  He 
opened  the  lid  and  fumbled  about  inside. 

"It  doesn't  seem  to  be  here,"  he  announced. 

"What!  the  negative  plate  remover  not 
there?"      cried  the  professor.      "Why,   it  must 


192  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

be.  It  is  one  of  the  new  tools  we  got,  and  It  has 
not  been  used  for  anything;  has  it?" 

"Oh,  by  Jinks  !"  cried  Jack  suddenly. 

"What's  the  matter?"  asked  his  chum. 

"That  plate  remover!  Don't  you  remember 
you  and  I  had  it  when  we  were  fixing  the  pipes 
outside  the  projectile,  when  we  had  the  other 
breakdown?  We  must  have  left  it  back  there  on 
the  ground." 

Jack  and  his  chum  gazed  blankly  at  each 
other. 

"I  guess  we  did,"  admitted  Mark  dubiously. 

"And  it  is  the  only  one  we  have,"  said  Mr. 
Roumann.  "We  need  it  very  much,  too,  for  the 
projectile  can't  very  well  be  moved  without  it." 

"How  can  we  get  it?"  asked  Jack.  "I'm  sorry. 
It  was  my  fault." 

"It  was  as  much  mine  as  yours,"  asserted 
Mark.  "I  guess  it's  up  to  us  to  go  back  after 
it.    It  isn't  far.    We  can  easily  walk  it." 

There  seemed  to  be  nothing  else  to  do,  and, 
after  some  discussion,  it  was  decided  to  have  the 
two  boys  walk  back  after  the  missing  tool,  which 
was  a  very  valuable  one. 

"Take  fresh  life-torches  with  you,"  advised 
Mr.  Henderson,  "and  you  had  better  carry  some 
food  with  you.  It  may  be  farther  back  than  you 
think,  and  you  may  get  hungry." 


LOST   ON   THE    MOON  193 

"I  guess  it  will  be  a  good  thing  to  take  some 
lunch  along,"  admitted  Jack.  "And  some  water, 
too.  We  can't  get  a  drink  here  unless  we  come 
to  a  spring,  and  we  haven't  seen  any  since  we 
arrived." 

"I'll  go  with  you,  if  you  don't  mind,"  said 
Andy.     "I  may  see  something  to  shoot." 

The  three  of  them,  each  one  carrying  a  freshly 
charged  vapor-torch,  a  basket  of  food  and  a  bot- 
tle of  water,  started  off,  well  wrapped  in  their 
fur  coats.  Andy  had  a  compass  to  enable  them 
to  make  their  way  back  to  where  the  tool  was 
left,  for,  amid  the  towering  peaks  and  the  valley- 
like depressions,  very  little  of  the  level  surface 
of  the  moon  could  be  seen  at  a  time. 

They  walked  on  for  several  hours,  every  now 
and  then  hoping  that  they  had  reached  the  place 
where  the  projectile  had  been  halted,  and  where 
they  expected  to  find  the  tool.  But  so  many  places 
looked  alike  that  they  were  deceived  a  number 
of  times. 

At  length,  however,  they  reached  the  spot  and 
found  the  instrument  where  Jack  had  carelessly 
dropped  it.  They  picked  it  up  and  turned  to  go 
back,  when  Andy  Sudds  saw  a  large  crater  off  to 
one  sidt. 

"Boys,  I'm  going  to  have  a  look  down  that," 


i94  LOST   ON    THE   MOON 

he  said.  "It  may  contain  a  bear  or  wildcat,  and  I1 
can  get  a  shot." 

"Guess  there  isn't  much  danger  of  a  bear  be- 
ing on  the  moon,"  said  Mark,  but  the  old  hunter 
leaned  as  far  over  the  edge  of  the  crater  as  he 
dared. 

"No,  there's  nothing  here,"  he  announced,  with 
almost  a  sigh,  and  he  straightened  up.  As  he  did 
so  there  came  a  tinkling  sound,  as  if  some  one 
had  dropped  a  piece  of  money. 

"What's  that?"  asked  Jack. 

"By  heck!  It's  the  compass!"  cried  Andy. 
"It  slipped  from  my  pocket  when  I  stooped  over. 
Now  it's  gone!" 

There  was  no  question  of  that.  They  could 
hear  the  instrument  tinkling  far  down  in  the  un- 
fathomable depths,  striking  from  side  to  side  of 
the  crater  as  it  went  down  and  down. 

"We'll  never  see  that  again,"  spoke  Mark 
dubiously. 

"Can  we  get  back  to  the  projectile  without  it?" 
asked  Jack. 

"Oh,  I  fancy  I  can  pick  my  trail  back,"  an- 
swered the  hunter.  "It  isn't  going  to  be  easy,  for 
there  are  no  landmarks  to  guide  me,  but  I'll  do 
my  best.  I  ought  to  have  known  better  than  to 
put  a  compass  in  that  pocket." 

It  was  not  with  very  light  hearts  that  they 


LOST   ON    THE   MOON  195 

started  back,  and  for  a  time  they  went  cautiously. 
Then,  as  they  seemed  to  get  on  familiar  ground, 
they  increased  their  pace  and  covered  several 
miles. 

"Say,"  remarked  Jack,  as  he  sat  down  on  a 
big  stone.  "I  don't  know  how  the  rest  of  you 
feel,  but  I'm  tired.  We've  come  quite  a  distance 
since  we  picked  up  that  tool." 

"Yes,  farther  than  it  took  us  to  find  it  after 
we  left  the  projectile,"  added  Mark.  "I  won- 
der if  we're  going  right?" 

The  two  boys  looked  at  Andy.  He  scratched 
his  head  in  perplexity. 

"I  can't  be  sure,  but  it  seems  to  me  that  we 
came  past  here,"  he  said.  "I  seem  to  remember 
that  big  rock." 

"There  are  lots  like  it,"  observed  Jack. 

"Suppose  we  try  over  to  the  left,"  spoke  Mark, 
after  they  had  rested  for  ten  minutes. 

They  swerved  in  that  direction,  and,  after 
keeping  on  that  trail  for  some  time,  and  becoming 
more  and  more  convinced  that  it  was  the  wrong 
one,  they  turned  to  the  right.  That  did  not 
bring  them  to  familiar  ground,  and  there  was  no 
sight  of  the  projectile. 

"Let's  go  straight  ahead,"  suggested  Andy, 
after  a  puzzled  pause.  "I  think  that  will  be 
best." 


196  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

"Well,  which  way  is  straight  ahead?"  asked 
Mark. 

"That's  so,  it  is  hard  to  tell,"  admitted  the 
hunter.    "I  wish  I  hadn't  lost  that  compass." 

They  wandered  about  for  an  hour  longer. 
They  could  seem  to  make  no  progress,  though 
they  covered  much  ground.  Suddenly  Jack  called 
out: 

"Say,  we've  been  going  around  in  a  circle  I" 

"In  a  circle?"  asked  Mark. 

"Yes,"  went  on  his  chum.  "Here's  the  very 
rock  I  sat  down  on  a  while  ago.  I  remember  it, 
for  I  scratched  my  initials  on  it." 

Jack  pointed  out  the  letters.  There  was  no 
disputing  it.  They  had  made  a  complete  circle. 
For  a  moment  they  maintained  silence  in  the  face 
of  this  alarming  fact.     Then  Mark  exclaimed: 

"I  guess  we're  lost!" 

"Lost  on  the  moon!"  added  Jack,  in  an  awe- 
struck voice,  and  he  gazed  on  the  chill  and  deso- 
late scene  all  about  them;  the  great  pinnacles  of 
rocks,  in  fantastic  form;  the  immense  black  cav- 
erns of  craters  on  either  hand;  the  sickly  green 
vegetation. 

"Lost  on  the  moon!"  whispered  Mark,  and 
there  was  not  even  an  echo  of  his  voice  to  keep 
them  company.     Only  a  chill,  desolate  silence! 


CHAPTER   XXIV 

DESOLATE     WANDERINGS 

For  a  moment  the  three  stood  helplessly  there 
and  stared  at  each  other.  They  could  scarcely 
comprehend  their  situation  at  first.  Then,  with  a 
glance  at  the  cold  and  quiet  scene  all  about  them, 
a  look  up  at  the  sun,  which  was  the  only  cheer- 
ful object  in  the  whole  landscape,  Jack  observed: 

"Oh,  I  say,  come  on  now,  don't  let's  give  up 
this  way!  We  have  only  taken  a  wrong  turn, 
and  I'll  wager  that  the  projectile  will  be  just 
around  the  corner.     Come  on,"  and  he  started  offt 

"Yes,"  said  Mark,  "that  's  the  trouble.  There 
are  so  many  corners,  and  we  have  taken  so  many 
wrong  turns,  that  we're  all  confused.  I  think 
the  best  thing  to  do  will  be  to  stay  here  a  while 
and  pull  ourselves  together." 

"That's  right,"  spoke  old  Andy.  "Many  a 
time  in  the  woods  I've  got  all  confused-like,  and 
then  I'd  sit  down  and  think,  and  I'd  get  on  the 
right  path  in  a  few  minutes  after." 

197 


198  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

"The  trouble  here  is,"  said  Jack,  "that  there 
are  no  woods.  If  there  were  we  might  know  how 
to  get  out  of  them.  But  think  of  it!  Lost  on 
the  moon,  in  the  midst  of  a  whole  lot  of  queer 
mountain  peaks,  and  big  holes  that  would  hold 
half  a  dozen  cities  of  the  United  States  at  the 
same  time,  and  never  know  it !  This  is  a  fearful 
place  to  be  lost  in!" 

"I'm  not  going  to  admit  that  we're  lost,"  de- 
clared Mark  stoutly. 

"Hu!  You're  like  the  Indian,"  spoke  Jack. 
"The  Indian  who  got  lost  in  the  woods.  He  in- 
sisted that  it  wasn't  he  who  was  lost,  that  it  was 
his  wigwam  that  couldn't  be  found.  He  knew 
where  he  himself  was  all  the  while.  That's  our 
case,  I  suppose.  We're  here,  but  the  projectile  is 
lost." 

"Ha !  ha !"  laughed  Andy  Sudds.  "That's  a 
pretty  good  joke!" 

"But  not  being  able  to  find  the  projectile  is  no 
joke,"  went  on  Mark,  who  always  took  matters 
more  seriously  than  did  his  chum.  "What  are  we 
going  to  do?"  he  added.  "We  can't  stay  here 
like  this." 

"Maybe  we'll  have  to,"  declared  Jack.  "We 
certainly  can't  get  off  the  moon — at  least,  not  until 
we  reach  the  projectile,  and  I'd  like  to  discover 
those  diamonds  before  we  go  back." 


DESOLATE   WANDERINGS  199 

"Hu!  Those  diamonds!"  exploded  Mark.  "I 
think  this  whole  thing  is  a  wild-goose  chase,  any- 
how! If  it  hadn't  been  for  those  diamonds  we 
wouldn't  have  come  to  the  moon.  I  don't  be- 
lieve there  are  any  diamonds  here,  anyhow." 

"Well,  I  can't  prove  it  to  you  now,  but  I  will 
before  we  get  back,"  asserted  Jack.  "We'll  be 
wearing  diamonds,  as  the  song  says." 

"Diamonds  aren't  going  to  keep  us  warm  when 
We're  freezing,"  went  on  Mark,  who  seemed  bound 
to  look  on  the  dark  side,  "and  we  can't  eat  'em 
when  we're  hungry.  A  lot  of  good  they'll  do  us 
if  we  do  find  them!" 

"Oh,  cheer  up!"  suggested  Jack  cheerfully. 
"And,  speaking  of  eating,  what's  the  matter  with 
having  some  lunch?  What  did  we  bring  it  along 
for  if  we're  not  going  to  eat?    Let's  begin." 

His  good  spirits  were  contagious,  not  that 
Andy  needed  any  special  cheering  up,  but  Mark 
did.  In  a  few  minutes  they  were  seated  on  some 
rugged  rocks,  and,  with  their  life-torches  stuck 
in  cracks,  so  that  the  perforated  metal  boxes  of 
chemicals  would  be  on  a  level  with  their  faces, 
they  opened  the  baskets  they  had  been  fore- 
sighted  enough  to  bring  with  them. 

"Why,  I  feel  better  already,"  asserted  Jack,  as 
he  munched  some  sandwiches  which  Washington 
White  had  made.     "As  soon  as  we've  finished 


ado  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

we'll  have  another  hunt  for  the  projectile,  and 
I'll  wager  that  we'll  find  it." 

"I  wouldn't  finish  if  I  were  you,"  suggested 
Andy,  who  was  eating  sparingly. 

"Finish  what?"  asked  Jack. 

"All  your  lunch.  You  see,"  the  old  hunter 
went  on,  "we  may  find  the  projectile,  and,  again, 
we  may  not.  I'm  inclined  to  think  we're  not  so 
very  far  from  it,  but  we  may  be  some  time  locat- 
ing it  in  among  all  these  peaks  and  craters.  So 
it  will  be  the  best  plan  to  save  some  of  our  lunch 
and  drinking  water  until — well,  until  we're  hun- 
gry again,"  and  he  carefully  put  back  into  his 
basket  the  remains  of  the  food. 

"You  don't  mean  to  say  you  think  we'll  be  all 
day  finding  the  Annihilator,  do  you?" 

Jack  paused,  with  a  sandwich  half  way  to  his 
mouth  as  he  asked  this  question. 

"Well,  it's  best  to  be  on  the  safe  side,"  spoke 
Andy  guardedly.  "We  may  find  it,  and,  again, 
we  may  not.  Save  your  powder  against  the  time 
of  need,  I  say — by  powder  meaning  victuals  and 
drink.  We  can't  drop  in  a  restaurant  up  here, 
and  I  don't  see  much  game  to  shoot,  and  I  should 
hate  to  eat  such  fodder  as  this,"  and  he  poked 
with  his  foot  some  sickly  green  vines,  growing  on 
the  ground. 

The  boys'   faces,   which    had    become    more 


DESOLATE   WANDERINGS  201 

cheerful,  assumed  a  serious  look.  Jack  stopped 
eating  at  once  and  placed  back  in  the  basket  his 
remaining  sandwiches.  He  also  corked  up  the 
bottle  of  water,  which  was  kept  from  freezing  by 
means  of  a  fur  pouch  in  which  it  was  carried. 

"If  there's  a  possibility  of  being  lost  some 
time,"  spoke  Mark,  "we'd  better  figure  out  just 
how  long  our  food  will  last,"  and  he  examined 
the  contents  of  his  basket. 

Fortunately  Washington  White,  with  a  knowl- 
edge of  the  appetites  of  the  chums,  had  filled  the 
baskets  with  lavish  hands.  There  was,  they  found, 
food  enough  to  last  them  three  days,  if  they  ate 
sparingly,  and  there  was  enough  water  for  half 
that  time,  providing  they  only  took  small  sips 
when  thirsty.  But  they  had  noticed,  in  one  or 
two  places,  little  pools  of  liquid,  which  they  had 
not  tasted,  but  which  might  prove  to  be  drinking 
water.  Certainly  they  would  need  more  if  they 
were  destined  to  remain  away  from  the  projectile 
for  very  long. 

"Well,  then,"  observed  Mark,  when  the  food 
calculation  was  over,  "it  appears  that  we  can  re- 
main lost  for  about  three  days,  at  the  most." 

"Oh,  but  we'll  be  back  home — I  mean  in  the 
projectile — long  before  that,"  declared  Jack. 

"I  wish  I  was  sure  of  that,"  murmured  Andy 
with  a  dubious  shake  of  his  head. 


202  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

"Well,  let's  move  on  again,"  suggested  Jack. 
"We  feel  better  now,  and  maybe  we'll  have  bet- 
ter luck." 

They  started  off,  tramping  over  the  rugged  sur- 
face of  the  moon,  while  the  sun  shone  with  tepid 
heat  down  on  them.  They  had  to  go  this  way  and 
that  to  avoid  the  immense  fissures  in  the  ground 
or  the  yawning  craters,  which  loomed  deep,  and 
in  awful  silence,  in  their  path.  Sometimes  they 
climbed  small  mountains  or  crawled  in  and  out 
of  small  craters,  slipping  and  stumbling. 

They  were  not  cold,  for  their  fur  garments 
kept  them  comfortably  warm,  and  there  was  no 
wind  to  make  the  freezing  temperature  search 
through  the  crevices  of  their  clothing.  But  it  was 
the  desolate  silence,  the  utter  absence  of  any  form 
of  life  save  the  pale  green  vegetation  that  got  on 
their  nerves.  It  was  like  being  in  a  dead  world 
— on  a  planet  that  seemed  about  to  dissolve  into 
space. 

They  began  their  further  search  for  the  projec- 
tile with  hope  in  their  hearts,  but  this  gradually 
gave  way  to  despair  as  they  wandered  on  over 
the  desolate  surface,  and  saw  nothing  but  the 
same  rugged  peaks,  the  same  yawning  caverns 
and  the  innumerable  craters,  large  and  small. 

On  they  wandered,  looking  on  all  sides  for  the 
missing  projectile,  but  they  had  no  glimpse  of  it. 


DESOLATE   WANDERINGS  203 

Even  climbing  to  one  of  the  high  peaks,  whence 
they  had  a  view  of  the  surrounding  country, 
afforded  them  no  trace  of  the  Ann'ihilator.  They 
were  utterly  lost. 

Old  Andy,  who,  by  reason  of  his  experience 
as  a  trapper  and  hunter,  had  taken  the  lead,  came 
to  a  halt.  He  looked  around  helplessly.  He  did 
not  know  what  to  do. 

"Well,  boys,"  he  remarked  at  length,  "I  don't 
like  to  say  it,  but  I  can't  seem  to  get  anywhere. 
I  give  up." 

"Give  up?"  murmured  Jack,  in  blank  dismay. 

"Yes,  for  the  time  being,"  said  the  old  man. 
"I'm  all  played  out.  I  guess  we  all  are.  We  must 
have  a  rest.  Here's  a  sort  of  cave.  Let's  crawl 
in  and  have  a  sleep.  Then  maybe  we  can  do  some- 
thing to-morrow — no,  not  to-morrow,  for  they 
don't  have  that  on  the  moon,  where  the  day  is 
fourteen  days  long — but  after  we  sleep  we  may  be 
able  to  find  our  way  back.  Anyhow,  I've  got  to 
get  some  sleep,"  and  without  another  word  the 
old  hunter  went  into  the  cave,  and,  fixing  his  life- 
torch  near  his  head,  where  the  fumes  from  it 
would  dissipate  the  poisonous  gases  of  the  moon, 
he  closed  his  eyes,  and  was  soon  in  slumber. 

"I — I  guess  we'd  better  do  the  same,"  said 
Jack,  and  Mark  nodded.  They  were  both  sick  at 
heart. 


CHAPTER   XXV 

THE    PETRIFIED    CITY 

For  a  time,  after  they  had  entered  the  cave, 
which  was  in  the  side  of  a  rugged  mountain,  the 
boys  talked  in  low  tones  of  their  perilous  situ- 
ation. For  that  it  was  perilous  they  both  knew. 
Had  they  been  on  the  earth,  lost  in  some  desolate 
part  of  it,  away  from  civilization,  their  plight' 
would  have  been  bad  enough  with  what  little 
food  they  possessed. 

But  on  the  far-off  moon — the  dead  moonj 
which  contained  no  living  creatures  save  them- 
selves, as  far  as  they  could  tell — with  no  form  of 
animal  life  that  might  serve  to  keep  them  from 
starving,  with  only  the  scantiest  of  vegetation, 
their  situation  was  most  deplorable. 

"And  then  there's  another  thing,"  said  Mark, 
as  if  he  was  cataloguing  a  list  of  their  troubles. 

"What  is  it?"  asked  Jack.  "I  guess  we  have 
all  the  troubles  that  belong  to  us,  and  more,  too." 

"Well,  what  are  we  going  to  do  when  the  life- 
torches  give  out,  and  we  can't  breathe  any  more?" 
asked  Mark  dubiously. 

204 


THE   PETRIFIED   CITY  205 

"Well,  I  guess  it'll  be  all  up  with  us  then,  if  we 
don't  starve  to  death  in  the  meanwhile,"  answered 
Jack.  "But  I'm  afraid  we  will  get  out  of  food 
before  the  torches  are  exhausted.  They  were 
freshly  filled  before  we  started  out  after  that 
tool,  and  they'll  last  for  two  weeks.  So  we  don't 
have  to  worry  ?.bout  that. 

"By  Jinks !  this  is  all  my  fault,  anyhow,  it 
seems.  If  I  hadn't  seen  that  item  in  the  Martian 
paper  about  the  diamonds,  we  never  would  have 
come  here,  and  if  I  hadn't  left  that  tool  on  the 
ground  outside  of  the  projectile  we  wouldn't 
have  had  to  come  back  after  it,  and  we  wouldn't 
have  become  lost.  So  I  guess  it's  up  to  me,  as  the 
boys  say." 

"Oh,  nonsense!"  exclaimed  Mark,  who,  as 
soon  as  he  heard  his  chum  blaming  his  own  ac- 
tions, was  ready  to  shoulder  part  of  the  respon- 
sibility himself.  "We  all  wanted  to  come  to  the 
moon,"  he  went  on,  "and,  as  for  leaving  the  tool 
and  forgetting  it,  I'm  as  much  at  fault  as  you 
are.  Let's  go  to  sleep,  and  maybe  we'll  feel  bet- 
ter when  we  wake  up." 

It  was  a  new  role  for  Mark — to  be  cheerful  in 
the  face  of  difficulties — and  Jack  appreciated  it. 
They  stretched  out  on  the  hard,  rocky  floor  of  the 
cavern,  taking  care  to  fix  their  life-torches  so  that 


206  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

the  fumes  would  dispel  the  poisonous  gases.  Then 
the  two  lads  joined  Andy  in  slumberland. 

Meanwhile,  as  may  be  imagined,  those  aboard 
the  projectile  were  very  anxious  about  the  fate 
of  the  two  boys  and  the  hunter.  They  could  not 
understand  what  delayed  them,  and,  though  they 
guessed  the  real  cause,  after  several  hours  had 
passed,  there  was  nothing  the  two  scientists 
could  do. 

They  could  not  move  the  projectile  until  it  had 
been  repaired,  and  this  could  not  be  done  without 
the  tool — at  least,  they  did  not  believe  so  then. 
Nor  did  Mr.  Henderson  and  the  German  think  it 
tvould  be  safe  to  start  out  in  search  of  the  wan- 
derers. 

"For,"  said  Mr.  Henderson,  "if  we  went  we 
would  easily  get  lost  amid  these  peaks  ourselves, 
and  they  are  so  much  alike  and  in  such  numbers 
that  there  is  no  distinguishing  feature  about  them. 
We  had  better  stay  here  in  charge  of  the  An- 
nihilator  until  the  boys  and  Andy  come  back. 
They  can't  be  away  much  longer  now." 

So  worn  out  and  exhausted  were  the  boys  and 
the  hunter  that  they  slept  for  several  hours  in  the 
cave,  and  the  rest  did  them  good.  They  awoke 
in  better  spirits,  and,  after  a  frugal  meal  and  a 
sip  of  the  fast-dwindling  water,  they  started  off 
once  more  to  locate  the  projectile. 


THE   PETRIFIED   CITY  207 

"I'm  a  regular  amateur  hunter  to  go  and  lose 
my  compass,"  complained  old  Andy.  "I  ought 
to  have  it  fastened  to  me,  like  a  baby  does  the 
rattle-box.  I  ought  to  kick  myself,"  and  he  ac- 
cepted all  the  blame  for  their  misadventure.  But 
the  boys  would  not  suffer  him  to  thus  accuse  him- 
self, and  they  insisted  that  they  would  shortly  be 
with  the  two  professors  and  Washington  in  the 
Annihilator  once  more. 

"Well,  it  can't  come  any  too  soon,"  said  Jack, 
"for  I  am  beginning  to  feel  the  need  of  a  square 
meal  and  a  big  drink  of  water." 

"So  am  I,"  said  Mark,  "but  let's  not  think 
of  it." 

All  that  day  they  wandered  on,  crossing  the 
rugged  mountains,  climbing  towering  peaks,  and 
descending  into  deep  valleys.  At  times  they 
skirted  the  lips  of  craters,  to  look  shudderingly 
into  the  depths  of  which  made  them  dizzy,  for 
the  bottoms  were  lost  to  sight  in  the  black  gloom 
that  enshrouded  the  yawning  holes. 

Their  food  was  getting  less  and  less,  and  what 
there  was  of  it  was  most  unpalatable,  for  the 
bread  was  stale  and  dry,  though  the  meat  kept 
perfectly  in  that  freezing  temperature.  How 
they  longed  for  a  hot  cup  of  coffee,  such  as  Wash- 
ington used  to  make !  and  how  they  would  have 
even  exchanged  their  chance  of  filling  their  pock- 


208  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

ets  with  the  moon  diamonds  for  a  good  meal, 
such  as  was  so  often  served  in  the  projectile! 

On  and  on  they  went.  Once,  as  they  were 
crossing  the  lip  of  a  great  crater,  Mark  became 
dizzy,  and  would  have  fallen  had  not  Jack 
caught  him.  Mark  had  forgotten,  for  the  mo- 
ment, and  had  lowered  his  life-torch,  so  that  his 
mouth  and  nose  were  not  enclosed  in  the  film 
of  vapor  that  emanated  from  the  perforated  box. 

"You  must  be  careful,"  Andy  warned  them. 

"What's  the  use?"  asked  Mark  despondently. 
"I  don't  believe  we'll  ever  find  the  projectile." 

"Of  course  we  will !"  exclaimed  Jack.  "I  know 
we  can't  be  far  from  it,  only  we  can't  see  it  be- 
cause of  the  mountains.  If  we  only  had  some  way 
of  letting  them  know  where  we  are,  they  could 
signal  to  us." 

"By  gum!"  suddenly  exclaimed  Andy. 

"What's  the  matter?"  asked  Jack,  for  the  old 
hunter  was  capering  about  like  a  boy. 

"Matter?  Why,  the  matter  is  that  I'm  a 
double-barrelled  dunce,"  was  the  answer.  "Look 
here;  do  you  see  that?"  and  he  held  up  his  rifle. 

"Sure,"  replied  Jack,  wondering  if  their  suffer- 
ings and  worry  had  made  the  old  hunter  simple- 
minded. 

"What  is  it?"  asked  Andy,  shaking  it  in  the 
air. 


THE    PETRIFIED    CITY  209 

"Your  rifle,"  answered  Mark,  looking  at  Jack 
in  surprise. 

"Of  course,"  answered  the  hunter,  "and  a  rifle 
is  made  to  be  fired  off,  and  here  I've  been  carrying 
mine  for  nearly  three  days  now,  and  I  haven't 
shot  it  once.  You  wanted  a  signal  to  make  the 
folks  in  the  projectile  hear  us.  Well,  here  it  is! 
I  guess  they  can  hear  this,  and  when  they  do 
they  can  come  and  get  us,  for  we  don't  seem  able 
to  reach  them.    I'll  just  fire  some  signal  shots." 

"That's  the  stuff !"  cried  Jack,  and  Andy  pro- 
ceeded to  discharge  his  rifle. 

The  report  the  gun  made  in  that  quiet  place 
was  tremendous,  and  the  effect  was  curious,  for, 
there  being  no  air  in  the  ordinary  acceptance  of 
the  word,  there  was  no  echo.  It  was  as  if  one 
had  hit  two  shingles  together.  Merely  a  loud, 
sharp  sound,  and  then  an  utter  silence,  the  vi* 
brations  being  swallowed  up  instantly. 

"Do  you  think  they  can  hear  that?"  asked 
Andy. 

"It  sounds  loud  enough,"  answered  Jack. 
"Shoot  some  more,"  which  the  old  hunter  did. 
They  wandered  on  still  farther,  firing  at  inter- 
vals all  that  day,  but  there  came  no  answering 
report  or  calls  to  direct  them  to  the  projectile. 
They  climbed  once  more  to  the  tops  of  towering 
peaks,  but  there  they  found  their  range  of  vision 


210  LOST   ON    THE   MOON 

limited  by  peaks  still  higher,  while  there  were 
great  valleys,  in  one  of  which,  whether  near  or 
far  they  could  not  tell,  they  knew  the  Annthilator 
was  hidden. 

They  had  almost  lost  track  of  time  now,  and 
they  did  not  know  how  far  they  had  wandered. 
They  had  sought  out  lonely  caves  to  sleep  in 
when  they  were  so  weary  they  could  go  no  far- 
ther, and  they  had  sat  about  on  bleak  rocks  shiv- 
ering, and  had  eaten  their  scanty  meals — shiver- 
ing because  in  spite  of  their  fur  garments  they 
were  cold,  as  they  did  not  eat  enough  to  keep 
their  blood  properly  circulating.  They  could  not 
when  they  did  not  have  the  food  to  eat! 

Andy  used  up  all  but  a  few  of  his  cartridges  in 
firing  signals,  but  to  no  purpose.  Their  water  was 
all  but  gone,  and  of  their  food  only  enough  re- 
mained for  a  day  longer,  though  their  life-torches 
still  gave  forth  plenty  of  vapor. 

"Well,  what's  to  be  done?"  asked  Jack,  as 
they  sat  about,  looking  helplessly  at  one  another. 

"Might  as  well  give  up,"  suggested  Mark 
bitterly. 

"Give  up?  Not  a  bit  of  it!"  cried  Andy,  as 
cheerfully  as  he  could.  "Let's  keep  on.  We'll 
find  the  projectile  sooner  or  later." 

So  they  kept  on.  It  was  while  making  their 
way  between  two  great  mountain  peaks  that  tow- 


THE   PETRIFIED   CITY  211 

ered  above  their  heads  on  either  side,  thousands 
of  feet  up,  making  a  sort  of  natural  gateway, 
that  Jack,  who  was  in  the  lead,  cried  out  in  aston- 
ishment at  the  sight  that  met  his  gaze  when  he 
had  passed  the  pinnacles. 

"Look!"  he  shouted,  pointing  forward. 

What  he  indicated  was  a  great  crater — larger 
and  deeper  than  any  they  had  yet  met  with.  It 
seemed  a  mile  across,  and,  if  gloom  and  darkness 
were  any  indications,  it  was  a  hundred  miles 
deep. 

But  it  was  not  the  size  of  the  great  hole  in  the 
ground,  not  its  fearful  gloom,  that  attracted  their 
attention.  What  did  was  a  great  natural  or  arti- 
ficial bridge  of  stone  that  was  thrown  across  the 
middle  of  it  from  edge  to  edge.  A  bridge  of 
stone  that  spanned  the  abyss;  a  roadway,  fifty 
feet  wide,  which  reached  into  some  unknown  land, 
connecting  it  with  the  desolate  country  in  which 
our  friends  had  been  wandering. 

"A  bridge  of  stone  across  the  cavern,"  said 
Jack,  "but  see.  Here  is  a  house  of  stone.  This 
was  the  guard-house,  I'll  wager — the  guard- 
house at  the  entrance  to  some  city,  and  that  bridge 
is  the  means  by  which  the  inhabitants  entered  and 
left.  Maybe  we  are  at  the  edge  of  the  inhab- 
ited part  of  the  moon!" 

His  words  thrilled  them.     They  pressed  for- 


212  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

ward  to  the  beginning  of  the  bridge  across  the 
crater.  They  looked  into  the  stone  hut.  Clearly 
it  had  been  made  by  hands,  for  it  was  composed 
of  blocks  of  stone,  neatly  fitted  together.  Jack's 
theory  seemed  confirmed. 

Mark  peered  into  the  house,  and  uttered  a 
cry  of  alarm. 

"There's  a  petrified  man  in  there!"  he  gasped. 

Jack  and  Andy  looked  in  at  the  open  window. 
They  saw,  sitting  at  a  table,  which  was  also  of 
rock,  a  man,  evidently  a  soldier,  or  rather  he  had 
been,  for  he  was  nothing  but  stone  now,  like  the 
hut  in  which  he  dwelt. 

The  wanderers  looked  at  each  other  with  fear 
on  their  faces.  What  dreadful  mystery  were 
they  about  to  penetrate  ? 

"Let's  cross  the  bridge,"  suggested  Jack,  in  a 
low  voice.  "Maybe  this  marks  the  end  of  deso- 
lation. Perhaps  we  may  find  life  and  food  across 
the  crater." 

"But — but  the  petrified  man !"  gasped  Mark. 

"What  of  it?  He  won't  hurt  us.  Maybe 
there  are  live  men,  who  will  take  care  of  us,  be- 
yond there,"  and  Jack  pointed  across  the  bridge 
of  stone. 

There  was  nothing  to  keep  them  where  they 
were — in  the  land  of  desolation.  They  could 
not  live  much  longer  there,   with  no   food  and 


THE   PETRIFIED   CITY  213 

water.  To  pass  on  over  the  crater  seemed  the 
only  thing  to  do. 

"Come  ahead,"  called  Jack  boldly.  They  fol- 
lowed him.  They  kept  in  the  middle  of  the  road, 
for  to  approach  the  edge,  where  there  was  a  sheer 
descent  of  so  many  feet  that  it  made  them  dizzy 
to  think  of  it,  filled  them  with  terror.  On  they 
hurried  until,  in  a  short  time,  they  had  crossed 
the  great  chasm. 

The  road  over  the  crater  came  to  an  end  be- 
tween two  peaks,  similar  to  those  at  the  begin- 
ning. Jack  was  the  first  to  pass  them,  and  as  he 
emerged  he  once  more  uttered  a  cry — a  cry  of 
fear  and  wonder. 

And  well  he  might,  for  in  a  valley  below  the 
wanderers  there  was  a  city.  A  great  city,  with 
wonderful  buildings,  with  wide  streets  well  laid 
out — a  city  in  which  figures  of  many  men  and 
women  could  be  seen — little  children  too !  A  fair 
city,  teeming  with  life,  it  seemed! 

But  then,  as  they  looked  again,  struck  by  the 
curious  quiet  that  prevailed,  they  knew,  that  they 
were  gazing  down  on  a  city  of  the  dead — a  city 
where  the  inhabitants  had  been  turned  to  stone, 
even  as  had  the  soldier  on  guard  in  his  lonely 
hut. 

They  had  come  upon  a  petrified  city  of  the 
moon! 


CHAPTER   XXVI 

SEEKING     FOOD 

"Well,  if  this  isn't  the  limit!"  burst  out  Jack, 
when  he  had  stood  and  contemplated  the  silent 
city  for  several  moments,  which  also  his  com- 
panions did.  "After  all  our  wanderings  and 
troubles,  when  we  do  find  a  place,  it  isn't  any 
good  to  us.  I  don't  suppose  there  is  a  square 
meal  in  the  whole  town!  Isn't  it  wonderful, 
though — every  person  turned  to  stone!" 

"Wonderful!"  gasped  old  Andy.  "I  never 
saw  anything  like  it  in  all  my  life !  What  do  you 
reckon  did  it,  boys?" 

"The  same  thing  that  turned  the  man  in  the 
hut,  and  the  one  Washington  thought  was  a  ghost, 
into  stone,"  answered  Mark.  "There  was  a  rain 
of  some  lime-water,  or  a  liquid  charged  with  sim- 
ilar chemicals,  and  the  people  were  turned  to 
rocks." 

It  was  uncanny,  and  for  a  moment  they  hesi- 
tated on  the  edge  of  the  city,  which  lay  in  a  sort 
of  cup-like   valley,   surrounded  on  all   sides  by 

214 


SEEKING   FOOD  215 

towering  peaks  of  the  moon  mountains.  The 
bridge  over  which  they  had  come  afforded  the 
only  entrance  to  the  city,  and  in  times  of  war 
(provided  the  inhabitants  of  the  moon  ever 
fought)  the  passage  must  have  been  well  guarded. 

It  was  evidently  a  time  of  peace  when  the 
calamity  that  turned  the  inhabitants  to  stone  came 
upon  them,  for  only  one  soldier  was  in  the  guard 
hut — doubtless  being  there  merely  to  give  an 
alarm,  or  possibly  to  keep  out  undesirable 
strangers. 

"Well,  are  we  going  to  stand  here  all  day?" 
asked  Jack  of  his  companions,  when  they  had  con- 
templated the  silent  city  for  five  minutes  longer. 

"I  say,  let's  go  down  there  and  see  what  we  can 
find.     I'm  getting  hungry." 

"There'll  be  nothing  there  to  eat,"  declared 
Mark.  "If  there  ever  was  anything,  it's  now 
stone.  Think  of  a  loaf  of  bread  like  a  brick,  and 
a  chunk  of  meat  like  some  great  rock!" 

"Let's  go  down,  anyhow,"  added  Andy,  and 
they  advanced. 

As  they  got  down  into  the  streets,  the  weird 
effect  came  over  them  more  strongly.  It  was  as 
if  they  had  suddenly  entered  some  large  town, 
and  at  their  advent  every  living  person  had  been 
turned  into  an  image. 

"Wonderful,     wonderful!"     murmured    Jack. 


216  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

"I've  read  of  the  uncovering  of  the  ancient 
buried  cities,  and  how  they  found  women  in  the 
kitchen  baking  bread,  and  men  at  their  work,  but 
this  goes  ahead  of  that,  for  here  the  people  are 
not  dust — they  are  statues !" 

"It  certainly  is  wonderful,"  agreed  Mark.  "I 
only  wish  the  two  professors  could  see  this.  They 
could  write  several  books  about  it.  This  proves 
that  the  moon  was  once  inhabited,  though  it  is 
dead  now.  The  projectile  should  have  come  to 
this  part  of  the  moon." 

"Maybe  they'll  bring  it  here,  when  we  get  back 
and  tell  them  what  we've  seen,"  suggested  Jack. 

"Yes,  if  we  ever  do  get  back,"  went  on  his 
chum,  with  a  return  of  his  gloomy  thoughts. 

The  strangeness  of  the  scenes  all  about  them 
can  scarcely  be  imagined.  Think  of  looking  at  a 
city  street  teeming  with  life,  men  and  women  hur- 
rying here  and  there,  dogs  running  about,  chil- 
dren at  their  play,  and  then  suddenly  seeing  that 
same  street  become  as  dead  as  some  mountain, 
with  the  people  represented  as  stones  on  that  same 
mountain,  and  you  can  get  some  idea  of  what  our 
friends  looked  upon. 

Here  was  a  woman,  looking  in  a  store  window, 
probably  at  some  bargains,  though  even  the  very 
window  and  store  itself  was  now  stone,  and  the 


SEEKING   FOOD  217 

woman  was  like  a  block  of  marble.  Near  her 
was  a  little  child,  also  turned  to  stone,  and  there 
were  a  number  of  men,  standing  together  on  a 
street  corner  as  if  they  had  been  talking  politics 
when  the  calamity  overtook  them. 

There  were  shops  where  the  workers  had  been 
turned  to  stone  at  their  benches,  there  were 
houses  at  the  windows  of  which  stone  faces  peered 
out,  and  there  were  parks  on  the  benches  of  which 
sat  men,  women  and  children,  stiff  and  solid — 
creatures  of  stone !  Truly  it  was  a  city  of  the 
dead! 

The  wanderers  walked  about,  seeing  new  won- 
ders on  every  side.  They  spoke  in  whispers  at 
times,  as  though  at  the  sound  of  a  loud  voice 
the  silent  ones  would  awaken  and  resume  the  oc- 
cupations or  pleasures  they  had  left  off  centuries 
ago. 

Another  strange  part  of  it  was  that  the  people 
were  not  so  very  different  from  those  of  the 
earth.  They  were  exactly  the  same  in  size  and 
feature,  but  their  clothing,  as  nearly  as  could  be 
told  from  the  stone  garments,  seemed  of  a  by- 
gone fashion,  such  as  was  in  vogue  hundreds  of 
years  ago.  There  were  no  horses  observed, 
though  there  were  stone  dogs  and  cats,  and  the 
shops  given  over  to  the  sale  of  food  contained 


218  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

in  the  windows  what  seemed  to  be  chunks  o£ 
meat,  loaves  of  bread,  and  pies  and  cakes,  though 
now  they  were  only  pieces  of  rock. 

"It's  just  as  if  one  of  our  cities  and  the  people 
in  it  should  be  suddenly  petrified,"  said  Mark. 
"It's  almost  like  the  earth  up  here;  only  they 
don't  seem  to  have  gotten  to  trolley  cars  yet." 

"Maybe  they  would  if  the  moon  hadn't  cooled 
off  when  it  did,  and  killed  them  all,"  suggested 
Jack.  "But,  I  say,  let's  get  down  to  something 
more  practical  than  theorizing." 

"What,  for  instance?"  asked  Mark. 

"Looking  for  something  to  eat,"  went  on  Jack. 
"I'm  nearly  starved,  and  I  have  only  half  a  sand- 
wich left.  I  want  to  eat  it,  yet,  if  I  do,  I  don't 
know  where  I'm  going  to  get  more.  And  as  for 
water,  I'd  give  a  handful  of  diamonds,  if  I  had 
them,  for  half  a  glass  of  even  warm  water." 

"Yes,  we  do  need  food  and  water  badly,"  said 
Andy. 

"Then  let's  look  for  it,"  suggested  Jack.  "If 
we  can  find  food  in  any  of  these  houses  or  shops, 
I  don't  believe  the  people  will  care  if  we  take  it." 

"Find  food  here?"  cried  Mark.  "Why,  you 
must  be  crazy!  All  the  food  is  turned  to  stone, 
and  what  isn't  would  be  spoiled!  Why,  no  one 
has  been  alive  here  for  thousands  and  thousands 
of  years!" 


SEEKING   FOOD  219 

"That's  nothing,"  asserted  Jack.  "Don't  you 
remember  reading  how,  in  the  arctic  regions,  they 
have  found  the  bodies  of  prehistoric  elephants 
and  mastodons  encased  in  blocks  of  ice,  where 
they  have  been  for  centuries.  The  meat  is  per- 
fectly preserved  because  of  the  cold.  And  what 
of  the  grains  of  wheat  they  find  in  the  coffins  of 
Egyptian  mummies?  Some  of  that  is  three  thou- 
sand years  old,  yet  it  grows  when  they  plant  it, 
and  they  can  make  bread  of  it. 

"Now,  maybe  we  can  find  some  wheat  or  some- 
thing to  eat  in  some  of  these  houses.  If  there's 
meat,  it  will  be  perfectly  preserved,  for  the  tem- 
perature is  below  freezing." 

"That  may  be,"  admitted  Mark,  convinced,  in 
spite  of  himself,  "but  it's  turned  to  stone,  I  tell 
you." 

"The  outside  part  may  be,"  said  Jack,  "but  if 
we  can  crack  off  the  outside  layer  of  stone  we  may 
find  some  good  meat  inside.  I'm  going  to  look, 
anyhow." 

"That's  not  a  bad  idea !"  cried  Andy  with  en- 
thusiasm. "Think  of  having  a  loaf  of  bread  and 
some  beefsteak  thousands  of  years  old.  I  sup- 
pose they  had  beefsteak  here,"  he  added  cau- 
tiously. 

"Some  kind  of  meat,  anyhow,"  agreed  Jack. 
"Well,  let's  look  for  a  place  that  was  once  a 


220  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

restaurant  or  hotel,  and  we'll  see  what  luck  we 
have.     Come  on." 

They  walked  along  the  silent  streets,  with  their 
silent  occupants,  and  finally  Jack  found  what  he 
was  seeking.  It  was  an  eating  place,  to  judge  by 
the  appearance,  and  at  tables  inside  were  seated 
stone  men  and  women. 

"Back  to  the  kitchen!"  cried  Jack  with  enthu- 
siasm. "There's  where  we'll  find  food,  if  there 
is  any!" 

"It'll  be  all  stone,"  declared  Mark,  but  he  and 
Andy  followed  Jack. 

They  came  to  the  place  where  was  what  ap- 
peared to  be  a  stove.  It  was  more  like  a  brick 
oven,  however,  than  a  modern  ran!ge,  though 
in  dishes  that  were  now  stone  something  was  be- 
ing cooked  when  the  catastrophe  occurred. 

"There's  meat,  I'll  wager!"  cried  Jack,  point- 
ing to  several  objects  on  a  table.  They  looked 
like  chunks  of  beef,  but  when  Mark  struck  them 
with  the  end  of  his  life-torch  they  gave  forth  a 
sound  as  if  a  rock  had  been  tapped. 

"What  did  I  tell  you?"  Mark  asked.  "Noth- 
ing but  rocks.  And  the  bread  is  also  a  stone,"  he 
added  bitterly. 

"You're  right,"  admitted  Jack,  with  a  sigh. 
"And  I'm  getting  hungrier  than  ever."  They 
all  were.     For  days  they  had  been  without  suffi- 


SEEKING   FOOD  '     221 

cient  food,  and  now,  when  it  was  almost  within 
their  reach,  they  were  denied  it  by  this  curious 
trick  of  nature.  With  pale  and  wan  faces  they 
gazed  at  each  other,  wetting  their  parched  lips, 
for  they  had  some  time  since  taken  the  last  of 
their  scant  supply  of  water,  and  they  were  very 
thirsty. 

"I  guess  it's  all  up  with  us,"  murmured  Mark. 
"We'll  soon  be  like  these  poor  people  here — 
blocks  of  stone." 

"If  we  only  could  change  this  meat  back  into 
it's  original  shape,"  spoke  Jack  musingly,  smit- 
ing his  fist  against  a  block  of  beef. 

Suddenly  Andy  uttered  a  cry. 

"I  have  it!"  he  fairly  shouted. 

"What?"  asked  Jack. 

"I  have  a  plan  to  get  meat  out  of  this  hunk 
of  stone!" 

The  two  boys  gazed  at  the  old  hunter  as  though 
they  thought  he  had  lost  his  reason,  but,  chuck- 
ling gleefully,  Andy  took  from  his  pouch  several 
cartridges,  and  proceeded  to  remove  the  wads, 
and  pour  the  powder  from  the  paper  shells  out 
on  the  stone  table. 

"I'll  have  some  meat  for  us,"  he  muttered. 
"We  shan't  starve  now!" 


CHAPTER  XXVII 

THE     BLACK     POOL 

"What  are  you  going  to  do,  Andy?"  asked 
Jack,  as  he  watched  the  old  hunter. 

"What  am  I  going  to  do?  Why,  I'm  going 
to  blast  out  some  of  this  meat,  that's  what  I'm 
going  to  do !  I  heard  you  boys  talking  about 
elephants  and  other  things  being  preserved  for 
centuries  in  a  cake  of  ice,  and,  if  that's  true,  why 
won't  the  meat  in  this  petrified  city  be  preserved 
just  as  well?  It's  always  below  freezing  here, 
and  that's  cold  enough." 

"But  the  meat  has  turned  to  stone,"  objected 
Mark. 

"Only  the  outside  part  of  it,  to  my  thinking," 
answered  Andy.  "I  believe  that  inside  these 
lumps  of  rock  we'll  find  good,  fresh  meat !" 

"But  how  are  you  going  to  get  it?"  asked  Jack. 

"Just  as  I  told  you — blast  it  out  with  some  of 
the  powder  from  my  cartridges.  I  used  to  be  a 
miner  before  I  turned  hunter,  and  when  we 
wanted  gold  we  used  to  fire  a  charge  in  some 

222 


THE   BLACK   POOL  223 

rocks.  Now  we  want  meat,  and  I'm  going  to  do 
the  same  thing.  I'll  put  some  powder  underneath 
this  block  of  stone  that  looks  as  if  it  was  a  chunk 
of  roast  beef,  and  we'll  see  what  happens.  It's 
lucky  I  saved  some  of  my  cartridges." 

While  he  was  talking  the  old  hunter  had  taken 
some  of  the  powder  and  put  it  back  in  one  of  the 
paper  shells.  Then,  making  a  fuse  by  twisting 
some  powder  grains  in  a  piece  of  paper  he  hap- 
pened to  have  in  his  pocket,  he  inserted  it  in  the 
improvised  bomb,  using  some  dirt  and  small 
stones  with  which  to  tamp  down  the  charge.  He 
discovered  a  crack  in  the  big  stone,  which  they 
hoped  would  prove  to  be  a  chunk  of  roast  beef, 
and  Andy  put  the  cartridge  in  that. 

"Look  out  now,  boys,"  he  called,  "I'm  going 
to  light  the  fuse.  I  didn't  make  a  heavy  charge, 
but  it  might  do  some  damage,  so  we'll  go  outside." 

They  hurried  from  the  place,  with  its  silent 
guests  and  waiters,  and  reached  the  street.  A 
moment  later  there  sounded  a  dull  explosion. 

"Now,  let's  see  what  we've  got!"  called  Jack. 

Back  to  the  kitchen  they  ran,  the  two  boys  in 
the  lead. 

"Why — why — the  stone  has  disappeared!" 
cried  Jack,  in  disappointment,  as  he  glanced  all 
around. 

"Yes,  but  look  here,"  added  Mark.    "Here  are 


224  LOST    ON    THE   MOON 

bits  of  meat,"  and  he  picked  up  from  the  stone 
table  some  scraps  of  meat. 

"Is  it  really  roast  beef?"  cried  Jack.  "Good 
to  eat?" 

Mark  smelled  of  it.  Then  he  put  the  morsel 
cautiously  to  his  lips.  The  next  instant  it  had 
disappeared.     It  was  proof  enough. 

"Good!  I  should  say  it  was  good!"  exclaimed 
Mark.  "I  wish  there  was  more  of  it!  What 
happened  to  the  rock  of  meat,  Andy?" 

"I  used  too  heavy  a  charge,  and  it  blew  all  to 
pieces.  I'll  know  better  next  time.  There  are 
lots  more  chunks  of  meat,  and  we'll  soon  have  a 
feast.     I'll  make  another  bombshell." 

He  worked  rapidly  while  Jack  sampled  some 
of  the  shreds  of  meat  that  had  been  scattered 
about  by  the  explosion.  The  beef  was  perfectly 
cooked,  and  in  spite  of  its  great  age  it  was  as  fresh 
and  palatable  as  frozen  meat  ever  is.  Besides 
the  heat  generated  by  the  explosion  had  partly 
thawed  it,  so  that  there  was  no  trouble  in  chew- 
ing it. 

Once  more  came  the  explosion,  a  slight  one 
this  time,  and  when  the  adventurers  re-entered 
the  kitchen  they  found  that  what  had  been  a  lump 
of  stone  had  been  broken  open,  and  the  middle 
part,  like  the  kernel  of  a  nut,  was  sweet  and  good. 
It  was  cooked,  so  they  did  not  have  to  eat  it  raw. 


THE   BLACK   POOL  225 

"Say,  maybe  this  isn't  good!"  exclaimed  Jack, 
chewing  away.     "It's  the  best  ever!" 

"And  there's  enough  in  this  city  to  keep  us 
alive  for  months,  if  we  can't  find  the  projectile 
in  that  time,"  declared  Andy. 

"Don't  you  think  we  will?"  asked  Mark. 

"Of  course,  but  I  was  only  just  mentioning  it. 
Now,  eat  all  you  want,  boys,  I  have  quite  a  few 
cartridges  left.  I  didn't  fire  away  as  many  as  I 
thought  I  did,  and  we  can  blast  out  a  dinner  any 
time  we  want  it.     So  eat  hearty!" 

They  needed  no  second  invitation,  and  for  the 
first  time  in  several  days  they  had  enough  to  eat. 
It  was  comfortable  in  the  petrified  restaurant, 
too,  for  they  could  move  about  without  carrying 
their  life-torches  constantly  in  their  hand.  The 
gases  from  the  perforated  boxes  filled  the  rooms, 
and  were  not  quickly  dispelled  by  the  poisonous 
vapors  as  they  were  outside,  so  they  could  walk 
around  in  comparative  freedom. 

"Now,  if  we  could  only  blast  out  a  loaf  of  bread, 
we'd  be  all  right,"  said  Jack.  They  found  some 
petrified  loaves,  but  on  breaking  one  open  it  was 
found  to  be  stone  all  the  way  through. 

Spurred  on  by  an  overwhelming  thirst,  they 
wandered  about  the  dead  city,  but  found  no  moist- 
ure. They  tried  to  chew  some  of  the  pale  green 
vegetation  that  grew  more  plentiful  on  this  side 


LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

of  the  moon,  but  it  was  exceedingly  bitter,  and 
they  could  not  stand  it,  though  there  was  some 
juice  in  it. 

They  crossed  the  city,  and  wandered  out  into 
the  country  beyond.  It  appeared  to  have  been  a 
fertile  land  before  the  stone  death  settled  down 
on  it.  They  saw  farmers  in  the  fields,  turned  into 
images,  beside  the  oxen  with  which  they  had  been 
plowing.  But  nowhere  was  there  a  sign  of  water. 
Had  it  not  been  for  a  frozen  rice  pudding,  they 
would  have  perished  that  first  day  in  the  stone 
city. 

As  it  was,  they  dragged  out  a  miserable  ex- 
istence, eating  from  time  to  time  of  the  blasted 
meat.  But  even  this  palled  on  them  after  a  while, 
for  their  lips  were  parched  and  cracked,  and  their 
tongues  were  swollen  in  their  mouths. 

"I  can't  stand  this  any  longer!"  cried  Jack. 

"What  are  you  going  to  do?"  asked  Mark. 

"Go  out  and  look  for  water.  There  must  be 
some  in  the  country  outside  if  there  isn't  any  in 
this  city.  I'm  going  to  have  a  look.  Besides, 
if  I'm  going  to  die,  I  might  as  well  die  while  I'm 
busy.  I'm  not  going  to  sit  here  in  this  dreadful 
place  and  give  up." 

His  words  urged  them  to  follow  him,  and,  with 
lagging  steps,  for  they  were  weak  and  faint,  they 


THE   BLACK   POOL  227 

went  from  the  restaurant,  which  they  had  made 
their  home  since  coming  to  the  petrified  city. 

Out  into  the  open  fields  they  went,  but  their 
search  seemed  likely  to  be  in  vain.  Between  times 
of  looking  for  the  water  they  scanned  the  sky 
for  a  sight  of  the  projectile,  which,  hoping  against 
hope,  they  thought  they  might  see  hovering  over 
them.     But  there  was  no  sight  of  it. 

They  came  to  a  vast,  level  plain,  girt  with 
mountains,  a  lonesome  place,  where  there  was  no 
sign  of  life.     Listlessly  they  walked  over  it. 

Suddenly  Andy,  who  was  in  the  lead,  uttered  a 
cry  and  sprang  forward.  The  boys  ran  to  him, 
and  found  the  old  hunter  gazing  into  the  depths 
of  a  great  black  pool,  which  filled  a  depression 
in  the  surface  of  the  moon.  It  was  a  small  cra- 
ter, and  was  filled,  nearly  to  the  top,  with  some 
black  liquid,  which  gloomily  reflected  back  the 
light  of  the  sun. 

"I'm  going  to  have  a  drink!"  cried  Andy,  and 
before  the  boys  could  stop  him  he  threw  himself 
face  downward  at  the  edge  of  the  black  pool. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 

THE     SIGNAL     FAILS 

"Stop  !  Don't  drink  that !  It  may  be  poison !" 
yelled  Jack. 

"Pull  him  back!"  shouted  Mark,  and  together 
they  advanced  on  the  old  hunter.  They  tried  to 
drag  him  away  from  the  black  pool,  but  Andy 
shook  them  off. 

"Let — me — alone !"  he  gasped,  as  he  bent  over 
the  uninviting  liquid  and  drank  deeply.  "It's 
water,  I  tell  you — good  water — and  I'm  almost 
— dead — from — thirst !" 

"Water?    Is  that  water?"  cried  Jack. 

"Well,  it's  the  nearest  thing  to  it  that  I've 
tasted  since  I've  been  lost  on  the  moon,"  spoke 
Andy,  as  he  slowly  arose.  "My,  but  that  was 
good!"  he  added  fervently. 

"But — water?"  gasped  Mark.  "How  can 
there  be  water  here?" 

"Taste  and  see,"  invited  the  old  hunter. 

They  hesitated  a  moment,  and  then  followed 
his  example.  The  liquid — water  it  evidently  had 
once  been — had  a  peculiar  taste,  but  it  was  not 

228 


THE    SIGNAL   FAILS  229 

bad.  By  some  curious  chemical  action,  which 
they  never  understood,  the  liquid  had  been  pre- 
vented from  evaporating,  nor  was  it  frozen  or 
petrified  as  was  everything  else  on  the  moon. 

What  gave  the  liquid  its  peculiar  black  color 
they  could  not  learn.  Sufficient  for  them  that  it 
was  capable  of  quenching  their  thirst,  and  they 
all  drank  deeply  and  refilled  their  bottles. 

"Now,  I  feel  like  eating  again,"  spoke  Andy, 
"We  can  take  some  of  this  back  with  us,  and 
have  a  good  meal  on  blasted  meat.  Whenever 
we  get  thirsty  we'll  have  to  make  a  trip  back 
here  for  water." 

The  boys  agreed  with  him.  They  examined 
the  black  pool.  It  appeared  to  be  filled  by  hid- 
den springs,  though  there  was  no  bubbling,  and 
the  surface  was  as  unruffled  as  a  mirror.  The 
liquid  was  not  very  inviting,  being  as  black  as 
ink,  but  the  color  appeared  to  be  a  sort  of  re- 
flection, for  when  the  water,  if  such  it  was,  had 
been  put  into  bottles  it  at  once  became  clear,  nor 
did  it  stain  their  faces  or  hands. 

"Well,  it's  another  queer  thing  in  this  queer 
moon,"  said  Jack.  "I  wish  the  two  professors 
could  see  this  place.  They'd  have  lots  to  write 
about." 

"I  wonder  if  we'll  ever  see  them  again?"  asked 
Mark 


230  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

"Sure,"  replied  Jack  hopefully.  "We'll  fill 
our  lunch  baskets,  take  a  lot  of  water  along,  and 
have  another  hunt  for  the  projectile  soon." 

They  did,  but  with  no  success.  For  several 
days  more  they  lived  in  the  petrified  city,  the 
meat  encased  in  its  block  of  stone,  which  Andy 
blasted  from  time  to  time,  and  the  black  water 
keeping  them  alive.  From  time  to  time  they 
went  out  in  the  surrounding  country,  looking  for 
the  projectile.  But  they  could  not  find  the  place 
where  they  had  left  it,  nor  could  they  find  even 
the  place  where  they  had  picked  up  the  lost  tool 
that  had  cost  them  so  much  suffering.  They  were 
more  completely  lost  than  ever.  They  crossed 
back  and  forth  on  the  bridge  over  the  crater 
chasm,  and  penetrated  for  many  miles  in  a  radius 
from  that,  marking  their  way  by  chipping  off 
pieces  of  the  rocky  pinnacles,  as  they  did  not 
want  to  leave  the  petrified  city  behind. 

From  some  peaks  they  caught  glimpses  of  other 
towns  that  had  fallen  under  the  strange  spell  of 
the  petrification.  Some  were  larger  and  some 
smaller  than  the  one  they  called  "home." 

Jack  proposed  visiting  some  of  them,  thinking 
they  might  find  better  food,  but  Mark  and  Andy 
decided  it  was  best  to  stay  where  they  were,  as 
they  were  nearer  the  supposed  location  of  the  pro- 
jectile. 


THE   SIGNAL   FAILS  231 

"I  think  they'll  manage  to  fix  it  up  somehow, 
so  it  will  move,"  said  Andy,  "and  then  they'll 
come  to  look  for  us.  I  hope  it  will  be  soon, 
though." 

"Why?"  asked  Jack,  struck  by  something  in 
the  tone  of  the  old  hunter. 

"Because,"  replied  Andy,  "I  am  afraid  our  life- 
torches  won't  last  much  longer.  Mine  seems  to 
be  weakening.  I  have  to  hold  it  very  close  to  my 
face  now  to  breathe  in  comfort,  while  at  first 
the  oxygen  from  it  was  so  strong  that  I  could  hold 
it  two  feet  off  and  never  notice  the  poisonous 
moon  vapors." 

This  was  a  new  danger,  and,  thinking  of  it,  the 
faces  of  the  boys  became  graver  than  ever. 
Death  seemed  bound  to  get  them  somehow. 

Two  more  days  went  by.  They  had  now  been 
lost  on  the  moon  over  a  week.  Each  one  now  no- 
ticed that  his  life-torch  was  weakening.  How 
much  longer  would  they  last?  They  dared  not 
answer  that  question.     They  could  only  hope. 

The  sun,  too,  was  moving  away  from  them. 
Soon  the  long  night  would  set  Jn.  By  Mark's 
computation  there  was  only  three  more  days  of 
daylight  left.  What  would  happen  in  the  deso- 
late darkness? 

As  they  were  returning  from  the  black  pool, 
with  their  water  bottles  filled,  and  put  inside  the 


232  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

fur  bags  to  prevent  the  frost  from  reaching  them, 
Mark  happened  to  gaze  over  across  a  line  of 
towering  peaks.  What  he  saw  caused  him  to  gasp 
in  astonishment. 

"Jack!  Andy!  See!"  he  whispered  hoarsely, 
pointing  a  trembling  finger  at  the  sky. 

There,  outlined  against  the  cloudless  heavens, 
was  a  long,  black  shape,  floating  through  the  air 
about  two  miles  distant. 

"The  projectile!  The  Annihilator!"  yelled 
Jack.  "Shout!  Call  to  them!  Wave  your  hands! 
Andy,  fire  your  gun !  They  have  started  off,  and 
they  can't  see  us.     We  must  make  them  hear!" 

Together  they  raised  their  voices  in  a  mighty 
shout.  The  old  hunter  fired  his  gun  several  times. 
They  waved  their  hands  frantically. 

But  the  projectile  never  swerved  from  its 
course.  On  it  moved  slowly,  those  in  it  paying  no 
heed  to  the  wanderers,  for  they  did  not  hear  them. 
Andy  fired  his  gun  again,  but  the  signal  failed, 
and  a  few  minutes  later  the  Annihilator  was  lost 
to  sight  behind  a  great  peak. 


CHAPTER  XXIX 

THE     FIELD     OF     DIAMONDS 

Dumbly  the  wanderers  gazed  at  each  other. 
They  could  not  comprehend  it  at  first.  That  the 
projectile,  on  which  their  very  lives  depended  in 
this  dead  world  of  the  moon,  should  float  away 
and  leave  them  seemed  incredible.  Yet  they  had 
witnessed  it. 

"Do — do  you  really  think  we  saw  it — saw  the 
Annihilator,  Mark?"  asked  Jack  in  a  low  voice, 
after  several  minutes  had  passed. 

"Saw  it?  Of  course,  we  saw  it.  We've  seen 
the  last  of  it,  I'm  afraid.  But  what  do  you 
mean?" 

"I — I  thought  maybe  I  was  out  of  my  head, 
and  I  only  saw  a  vision,"  answered  Jack.  "You 
know — a  sort  of  mirage.     It  was  real,  then?" 

"Altogether  too  real,"  spoke  Andy  Sudds 
grimly.  "They  didn't  see  us  nor  hear  us.  We're 
left  behind!" 

"But    can't    we    do    something?"    demanded 
Mark.     "Let's  start  off  and  try  to  catch  them. 
They  were  going  slow." 
233 


234  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

"The  wonder  to  me  is  how  they  moved  at  all,'* 
said  Jack.  "I  thought  the  machinery  wouldn't 
work  until  we  got  back  with  the  lost  tool." 

"Probably  the  two  professors  found  some  way 
of  patching  up  the  motor,"  was  Mark's  opinion, 
and  later  they  found  that  this  was  so. 

For  some  time  they  remained  staring  in  the 
direction  in  which  the  projectile  had  vanished,  as 
if  they  might  see  it  reappear,  but  the  great  steel 
shell  did  not  poke  its  sharp  nose  in  among  the 
towering  peaks  which  hid  it  from  view.  Probably 
it  was  many  miles  away  now. 

"Well,"  remarked  old  Andy  at  length,  "we've 
got  to  make  the  best  of  it.  We  won't  have  many 
more  days  of  light,  and  we  must  gather  what  food 
we  can,  put  it  where  we  can  find  it  in  the  dark,  and 
also  bring  in  some  water  from  the  black  pool. 
We  can  store  that  in  some  of  the  stone  tables. 
By  turning  them  upside  down  they  will  make 
good  troughs,  and  it  won't  freeze.  We  must 
work  while  we  have  light,  for  soon  the  long 
night  will  come." 

The  sight  of  the  projectile  going  away  seemed 
to  take  the  heart  out  of  all  of  them,  and  they  did 
not  know  what  to  do.  For  some  time  they  re- 
mained there  idly,  until  Andy  roused  the  boys 
to  a  sens^  $f  iheir  responsibility  by  urging  upon 


THE   FIELD    OF   DIAMONDS  235 

them  the  necessity  of  getting  together  a  store  of 
meat  and  water. 

As  they  had  about  exhausted  the  limited  food 
supply  in  the  ancient  restaurant,  they  sought  and 
found  another  and  larger  one.  There  they  had  the 
good  fortune  to  come  upon  some  whole  sides  of 
beef  and  lamb,  which  were  petrified  on  the  outside, 
but  which,  when  they  had  blasted  off  the  outer 
shell  of  stone,  gave  them  good  food. 

They  made  several  trips  to  the  black  pool,  and 
brought  in  all  the  liquid  they  could,  for  they  did 
not  want  to  have  to  go  outside  the  petrified  city 
into  the  wild  and  desolate  country  beyond,  after 
the  dismal  night  had  settled  down.  They  feared 
they  would  become  lost  again. 

Their  lonely  situation  seemed  to  grow  upon 
them.  The  appalling  silence  all  about  terrified 
them.  The  weird  sight  of  the  petrified  men  and 
women  in  the  petrified  city  got  on  their  nerves. 

They  had  done  all  they  could.  A  store  of  meat 
had  been  blasted  out  and  put  away.  It  would 
keep  outside  of  the  stone  shell  now,  for  the 
weather  was  getting  colder  with  the  advent  of  the 
long  night. 

This  fact  worried  them.  With  the  temperature 
at  twenty-eight  when  the  sun  was  shining,  what 
might  it  not  fall  to  in  the  darkness?    The  terri- 


236  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

ble  cold  of  the  arctic  regions  might  be  nothing 
compared  to  the  frostiness  of  the  dead  moon  in 
the  shadow.  Their  fur  garments,  thick  as  they 
were,  might  be  no  more  protection  than  so  much 
paper.  And  they  had  no  means  of  making  a 
fire,  nor  anything  to  burn  on  one  had  they  been 
capable  of  kindling  it,  for  Andy  had  used  the  last 
of  his  cartridges  to  blast  with,  and  where  every- 
thing was  petrified  there  was  no  wood. 

Then,  too,  their  life-torches  were  giving  out. 
The  emanations  of  oxygen  were  weaker,  and  they 
had  to  hold  them  almost  under  their  noses  to 
breathe  the  vital  vapor. 

One  day,  or  rather  what  corresponded  to  a 
day,  for  they  had  lost  all  track  of  time,  Andy 
Sudds  arose  from  the  stone  bench  on  which  their 
meager  meal  had  been  served.  He  started  from 
ithe  restaurant  where  they  had  taken  up  their 
abode. 

"Where  are  you  going?"  asked  Jack. 

"I'm  going  to  make  one  last  attempt  to  find 
the  projectile  before  it  gets  too  dark,"  answered 
the  hunter.  "We  can  go  out,  look  around  for  sev- 
eral hours,  and  get  back  before  darkness  sets  in. 
We  might  as  well  do  it  as  sit  here  doing  nothing. 
Then,  too,  we  can  bring  in  some  more  water. 
We'll  need  all  we  can  store  away." 

"I'll    go    with   you,"    volunteered   Jack,    and 


THE   FIELD   OF   DIAMONDS  237 

Mark,  not  wanting  to  be  left  alone  in  the  dead 
city,  followed.  Carrying  their  life-torches  and 
wrapping  their  fur  garments  closely  about  them, 
for  it  had  grown  much  colder,  they  sallied  forth. 

They  found  a  thin  film  of  ice  on  the  black  pool, 
showing  that  it  would  probably  freeze  when  it 
got  cold  enough,  though  the  ordinary  tempera- 
ture of  thirty-two  degrees  had  not  affected  it. 
They  filled  their  water  bottles,  and  then  Andy 
proposed  that  they  take  a  new  path — one  they  had 
not  tried  before. 

They  hardly  knew  where  they  were  going,  but 
ever  as  they  tramped  on  they  cast  anxious  looks 
upward  to  see  if  they  might  descry  the  projec- 
tile hovering  over  them.     But  they  did  not  see  it. 

Jack  had  taken  the  lead,  and  was  walking 
along,  glancing  idly  about.  He  came  to  a  place 
where  two  peaks  were  so  close  together  that  it 
was  all  he  could  do  to  squeeze  through.  But  the 
moment  he  had  passed  the  defile  and  looked  out 
on  a  broad,  level  field,  he  came  to  a  sudden  stop. 
His  companions,  who  pressed  after  him,  saw 
him  rub  his  eyes  and  shake  his  head,  as  if  disbe- 
lieving the  evidence  of  what  lay  before  him. 
Then  Jack  murmured: 

"It  can't  be  true  !     It  can't  be  true !" 

"What?"  called  Mark. 

"There!     Those,"  answered  his  chum.     "See, 


238  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

the  field  is  covered  with  diamonds!  We  have 
found  the  diamonds  of  the  moon — the  field  of 
Reonaris  that  the  men  of  Mars  discovered! 
There  are  the  diamonds — millions  of  them !" 

"Diamonds!"  exlaimed  Mark.  He  squeezed 
through  the  defile,  and  stood  beside  Jack.  Before 
him  in  the  fading  light  of  the  sun  was  a  broad 
field,  girt  around  with  towering  cliffs,  and  the 
surface  of  the  field  was  covered  with  white  stones. 

Jack  sprang  forward  and  gathered  up  a  double 
handful.  He  let  them  run  through  his  fingers  in 
a  sparkling  stream.  Old  Andy  came  up  to  the 
boys. 

"They're  only  glass  or  crystals,"  he  said. 

"They  are  not  glass  or  crystals !"  declared 
Mark,  who  had  made  a  study  of  gems.  "I  should 
say  they  were  diamonds,  probably  meteoric  dia- 
monds, very  rare  and  valuable.  Why,  there  is 
the  ransom  of  a  thousand  kings  spread  out  before 
us!" 

He  fell  upon  his  knees  and  began  to  scoop  up 
the  gems.  His  chum  was  making  a  little  heap 
of  the  stones. 

"The  ransom  of  a  thousand  kings !"  murmured 
Jack.  "More  diamonds  than  in  all  the  world— 
and  I'd  give  my  share  for  a  good  ham  sandwich !" 


CHAPTER   XXX 

BACK     TO     EARTH CONCLUSION 

At  any  other  time  the  discovery  of  such  a  vast 
store  of  wealth  would  have  set  the  wanderers 
half  wild  with  joy.  Now  they  only  accepted  the 
fact  dully,  for  the  perils  of  their  situation  over- 
burdened them.  As  Jack  had  said,  they  needed 
food  more  than  the  gems,  for  at  best  the  supply 
they  had  blasted  out  could  not  last  long,  and 
when  that  was  gone  where  were  they  to  get  more, 
for  there  were  no  more  cartridges,  and  the  rend- 
ing force  of  powder  was  needed  to  open  the  rocky 
meat. 

"I  knew  we'd  find  the  diamonds,"  murmured 
Jack,  as  he  began  to  fill  the  pockets  of  his  fur 
coat.     "I'm  right,  after  all,  Mark,  you  see." 

"Yes,  but  what  good  will  it  do  us?  What's  the 
good  of  even  carrying  any  away.  We  can  never 
use  them." 

"That's  so,"  agreed  Jack,  in  a  low  voice.  "I 
might  as  well  leave  them  here." 

But  somehow  the  desire  to  pick  up  gems  which., 
239 


240  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

when  they  were  cut  and  polished,  would  rival 
many  of  the  famous  diamonds  of  history  was  too 
strong  to  be  resisted.  Though  he  was  afraid  he 
would  never  get  back  to  earth  to  enjoy  them, 
Jack  could  not  help  putting  in  his  pockets  a  goodly 
supply  of  the  largest  of  the  precious  stones.  Andy 
did  the  same,  and  Mark,  in  spite  of  his  gloomy 
feelings,  stuffed  his  pockets.  They  worked  with 
their  torches  held  close  to  their  faces,  and  in  the 
search  for  the  better  stones  they  literally  walked 
over  millions  of  dollars'  worth  of  the  gems. 

For  there,  stretched  out  before  them,  was  an 
actual  field  of  diamonds.  As  Mark  had  said, 
they  were  of  meteoric  origin,  that  is,  a  meteor  had 
burst  over  that  particular  portion  of  the  moon, 
and  the  chemical  action  had  created  the  diamonds, 
which  had  fallen  in  a  shower  in  the  field. 

"If  you  boys  have  all  you  want,  then  let's  get 
back  to  the  city,"  suggested  Andy.  "No  telling 
when  it  will  be  night  now." 

They  followed  his  advice,  and  soon  were  going 
back  by  way  of  the  black  pool.  It  seemed  more 
lonesome  than  ever,  after  the  excitement  of  dis- 
covering the  field  of  diamonds,  and  even  Jack, 
glad  as  he  was  to  have  his  theory  vindicated,  got 
tired  of  referring  to  it.  His  triumph  meant  little 
to  him  now. 

They  were  at  the  entrance  to  the  petrified  city. 


BACK   TO   EARTH— CONCLUSION      241 

As  they  were  about  to  go  in,  ready  to  hide  them- 
selves in  the  deepest  part  of  the  restaurant,  away 
from  the  terrible  cold  and  appalling  darkness  they 
felt  would  soon  be  upon  them,  Mark  came  to  a 
sudden  halt.  He  glanced  quickly  up  into  the  air 
and  cried  out: 
"Hark!" 

"What's  the  matter?"  asked  Jack,  as  they 
stood  in  a  listening  attitude. 

"I  heard  a  noise,"  whispered  Mark.  "It 
sounded — I'm  sure  it  sounded — like  the  crackling 
of  the  wireless  motor  waves  of  the  projectile. 
Listen!" 

Faintly  through  the  silence  came  a  sound  as  if 
there  was  a  discharge  of  an  electric  current.  It 
increased  in  volume,  and  there  was  a  faint  roar' 
ing  in  the  atmosphere. 

"It's  her — it's  the  Annihilator!"  shouted  Jack, 
leaping  about. 

"Wait,"  counselled  Andy,  who  dreaded  the  ter- 
rible disappointment  should  the  boys  be  mistaken. 
The  sound  came  nearer.  The  crackling  could 
plainly  be  made  out  now.  The  sun  was  out  of 
sight,  but  there  was  still  the  glow  which  follows 
sunset. 

The  boys  were  eagerly  scanning  the  heavens. 
Their  hearts  beat  high  with  hope.  Suddenly,  in 
the  olive-tinted  sky  just  above  a  range  of  rugged 


242  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

peaks,  a  black  shape  loomed.  A  black  shape,  as 
of  a  great  cigar,  pointed  at  both  ends.  It  shot 
into  full  view. 

"The  projectile!"  yelled  Jack. 

"The  Annihilator!"  gasped  Mark. 

"Thank  Heaven,  they  have  found  us  in  time !" 
exclaimed  Andy  fervently,  and  the  three  stretched 
out  their  arms  toward  the  craft  from  which  they 
had  been  parted  so  long.  It  was  as  if  they  tried 
to  pull  it  down  to  them. 

"Do  they  see  us?" 

"Will  they  pass  us  by?" 

"Make  a  noise  so  they'll  hear  us !" 

"Wave  to  them!" 

"Oh,  if  they  leave  us  now !" 

Questions,  ejaculations  and  entreaties  came 
rapidly  from  the  lips  of  the  wanderers.  They 
raised  their  voices  in  a  shout  They  leaped  up 
and  down.  They  wildly  waved  their  hands  and 
life-torches. 

Then,  to  their  inexpressible  joy,  they  saw  the 
course  of  the  projectile  change.  It  was  headed 
toward  them,  and  a  few  minutes  later  it  settled 
slowly  to  the  ground  about  half  a  mile  away. 

"Come  on!"  cried  Jack.  "We  must  hurry  to 
them,  or  soon  it  will  be  too  dark  to  see  them,  or 
for  them  to  find  us.  It's  our  last  chance;  don't 
let's  lose  it!" 


BACK   TO   EARTH— CONCLUSION      243 

He  sprang  forward,  the  others  after  him,  and 
together  they  ran  toward  the  projectile.  They 
could  see  the  two  professors  and  Washington 
White  emerging  from  the  steel  car,  waving  their 
hands. 

On  rushed  the  lost  wanderers,  over  the  rough 
stones,  skirting  the  great  cliffs,  falling  into  small 
craters,  crawling  out  again,  just  missing  several 
times  being  precipitated  into  yawning  caverns, 
and  stumbling  over  petrified  bodies  that  strewed 
the  ground. 

Ever  did  they  hasten  onward  though,  increas- 
ing their  speed.  They  came  to  a  great  crater  that 
lay  between  them  and  the  projectile,  but  for- 
tunately there  was  across  the  middle  of  it  a  nat- 
ural bridge  of  stone.  But  it  was  narrow — ■ 
scarcely  wide  enough  for  one  at  a  time. 

"We  can  never  cross  on  that!"  cried  Mark, 
halting. 

"We've  got  to  I"  shouted  Jack,  and  he  sprang 
fearlessly  forward,  fairly  running  over  the  nar- 
row path,  which  had  a  sheer  descent  of  thou- 
sands of  feet  on  either  side. 

Mark,  though  fearful  that  he  would  become 
dizzy  and  fall,  followed  Andy.  They  were  soon 
across  the  narrow  bridge,  and  speeding  on  toward 
the  Annihilator.  Five  minutes  later  they  had 
reached  it,  and  were  being  wildly  welcomed  by 


244  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

the  two  professors  and  Washington  White,  who 
had  advanced  to  meet  them. 

"I  'clar  t'  goodness-gladness !"  exclaimed  the 
colored  man,  "I  am  suttinly  constrained  t'  espress 
my  approbation  ob  de  deleterous  manner  in  which 
yo'  all  has  come  back  t'  dis  continuous  territory." 

"Do  you  mean  you're  glad  to  see  us,  Wash?" 
asked  Jack. 

"Dat's  what  I  done  said,"  was  the  answer,  with 
a  cheerful  grin,  "an'  I  might  also  remark  dat 
dinner  am  serbed  in  de  dinin'  car." 

"Hurrah!"  cried  Jack.  "That's  the  best  news 
I've  heard  in  a  week.  No  more  blasted  beef  for 
mine  !    Give  me  ham  and  eggs !" 

"But  what  happened  to  you?  Where  have  you 
been?  We  have  searched  all  over  for  you,  and 
were  just  giving  you  up  for  dead,  and  going  back 
to  the  earth,"  said  Professor  Henderson.  "We 
caught  sight  of  you  at  the  last  minute." 

"Oh,  you  mustn't  go  back  until  you  go  to 
the  field  of  diamonds!"  cried  Jacck,  and  then  by 
turns  he  and  Mark  and  Andy  told  of  their  ter- 
rible adventures  while  they  were  lost  on  the  moon. 

On  their  part  Professors  Roumann  and  Hen- 
derson stated  how  they  had  waited  in  vain  for  the 
return  of  the  wanderers,  and  had  then,  by  stren- 
uous work,  managed  to  make  the  necessary  re- 
pairs without  the  missing  tool.     Then  they  set 


BACK   TO   EARTH— CONCLUSION      245 

out  to  discover  the  lost  ones,  but  succeeded  only 
just  in  time,  for  it  was  now  quite  dusk. 

"An'  did  yo'  all  really  discober  dem  spark- 
lers?" asked  Washington,  as  he  served  what  the 
boys  thought  was  the  finest  dinner  they  had  ever 
tasted. 

"We  sure  did,"  replied  Jack.  "Here  are  a 
couple  for  that  red  necktie  of  yours,"  and  he 
passed  over  two  big  diamonds. 

It  did  not  take  long  to  move  the  projectile  to 
the  field  of  the  sparkling  gems,  and  by  means  of 
a  powerful  search-light  enough  were  soon  gath- 
ered up  to  satisfy  even  Washington  White,  who 
declared  that  he  would  be  the  best  decorated  col- 
ored man  in  Bayside  when  they  got  back.  The  two 
professors  made  what  observations  they  could  in 
the  petrified  city  in  the  fast-gathering  darkness, 
and  then,  having  taken  a  petrified  man  into  the 
projectile  with  them  to  deposit  in  a  scientific  mu- 
seum in  which  Professor  Roumann  was  interested, 
the  Annihilator  was  sealed  shut. 

And  it  was  only  just  in  time,  for  with  the  sud- 
denness of  an  eclipse  intense  darkness  settled 
down,  and  the  temperature,  as  indicated  by  a  ther- 
mometer thrust  outside,  showed  a  drop  of  a  hun- 
dred degrees. 

"We  never  could  have  lived  out  there,"  said 
Jack. 


246  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

"Well,  we'll  soon  be  back  on  earth,"  observed 
Mark,  and  a  little  later  the  Cardite  motor  was 
out  in  operation,  and  the  journey  back  to  this 
world  begun. 

Little  of  moment  happened  on  the  return  trip. 
The  boys  went  more  into  detail  about  their  wan- 
derings, and  told  how  they  had  managed  to  live 
during  the  time  they  were  lost.  The  two  pro* 
fessors  and  Washington  spoke  of  their  worry  and 
anxiety,  and  their  vain  search  for  the  wanderers. 

As  they  were  anxious  to  get  back  home,  the 
motor  was  speeded  to  the  limit,  and  in  much  less 
time  than  they  had  made  the  trip  to  the  moon 
they  had  arrived  in  sight  of  the  earth  again. 
As  they  did  not  want  to  create  too  much  excite- 
ment, they  hovered  about  in  the  air  over  Bay- 
side  until  dark,  when  they  gently  descended  al- 
most in  the  very  spot  from  which  they  had  started. 

"Well,"  remarked  Jack,  as  he  stepped  out  on 
the  earth  once  more,  "it  was  quite  an  experience 
to  go  to  the  moon,  and  I  suppose  being  lost  there 
wasn't  the  worst  thing  that  could  happen  to  us,  but 
all  the  same  I'm  glad  to  be  back." 

"So  am  I,"  declared  Mark.  "It  was  worth 
while  going,"  and  he  felt  of  his  pocketful  of  dia- 
monds. 

"We  certainly  made  some  very  valuable  sci- 
entific observations,"   asserted  Mr.   Henderson, 


BACK   TO    EARTH— CONCLUSION      247 

"and  we  will  be  able  to  prove  that  the  moon  was 
once  inhabited." 

Washington  White  was  carefully  lifting  out  his 
Shanghai  rooster,  which  was  uttering  loud  crows. 
As  soon  as  he  had  set  the  fowl  on  the  ground,  the 
colored  man  started  off. 

"Where  are  you  going?"  asked  Mark. 

"I'm  going  t'  a  jewelery  shop  t'  hab  my  dia- 
monds made  inter  a  stick-pin  fo'  my  red  necktie," 
was  the  answer. 

"Oh,  you'd  better  wait  until  morning,"  sug- 
gested Professor  Henderson. 

They  gathered  about  the  table  in  the  cozy  din- 
ing room  of  their  home,  while  Washington  got  a 
meal  ready.  Every  one  was  talking  about  what 
a  wonderful  trip  they  had  had. 

"The  only  trouble  is,"  said  Jack,  "that  we've 
been  to  about  all  the  interesting  places  in  this  uni- 
verse now.    I  wonder  where  we  can  go  next?" 

"I'm  going  to  bed  right  after  supper,"  an- 
nounced Mark.  "Maybe  I'll  discover  a  new 
land  in  my  dreams." 

The  moon  voyagers  had  a  great  store  of  gems, 
and,  as  they  did  not  wish  to  bring  down  values  by 
disposing  of  them,  they  only  sold  a  few,  which, 
because  of  their  great  size  and  brilliancy,  brought 
a  large  price.  Several  jewelers  wanted  to  know 
where  the  diamonds  came  from,  but  the  secret 


248  LOST   ON   THE   MOON 

was  well  kept.  Most  of  the  gems  were  used  for 
scientific  purposes,  but  Mark  and  Jack  gave  some 
to  certain  of  their  friends. 

The  petrified  man  proved  a  great  curiosity,  and 
a  history  of  it,  in  two  large  volumes,  can  be  seen 
in  the  museum  where  the  body  is  exhibited.  Pro- 
fessor Henderson  wrote  the  account,  and  also 
published  quite  an  extensive  history  of  the  trip  to 
the  moon,  which  was  considered  by  scientists  and 
laymen  to  be  a  most  remarkable  journey. 

But,  though  our  friends  had  been  to  many 
strange  places,  it  was  reserved  for  them  to  have 
yet  still  more  wonderful  adventures,  though  for 
a  time  after  returning  from  the  moon  they  re- 
mained at  home,  the  two  professors  busy  over 
their  scientific  work,  and  the  boys  engaged  with 
their  studies,  while  Andy  occasionally  went  hunt- 
ing, and  Washington  got  the  meals  and,  between 
times,  fed  his  rooster  and  admired  the  diamonds 
in  his  red  necktie.  And  now  we  will  bid  our 
friends  good-by. 


THE     END 


THE  GREAT  MARVEL  SERIES 


t    RY  AID    PYDDPRS    = 


ril   4i 


i 


BY  AIR.  EXPRESS 
TO  VENUS 


Roy  Rockwood 


By  ROY  RGCKWOOD 

121110.       Cloth.     Illustrated.     Jacket   in 
Colors. 
Price,  per  volume,  50  cents. 
Postage   10   cents  extra. 

Since  the  days  of  Jules  Verne,  tales  of 
flying  machines  and  submarine  boats  have 
enjoyed  increasing  popularity.  Stories  of 
adventures,  in  strange  places,  with  peculiar 
people  and  queer  animals,  make  this  series 
noteworthy  and  popular. 


1.  THROUGH  THE  AIR  TO  THE  NORTH  POLE 

The  tale  of  -a  wonderful  cruise  to  the  frozen  north  and  adventures 
with  a  degree  of  reality  that  is  almost  convincing. 

2.  UNDER  THE  OCEAN  TO  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

A  marvelous  trip  from  Maine  to  the  South  Pole,  telling  of  adven- 
tures with  the  sea-monsters  and  savages. 

3.  FIVE  THOUSAND  MILES  UNDERGROUND 

A   cruise   to  the    center   of    the  earth   through   an    immense    hole 
found  at  an  island  in  the  ocean. 

4.  THROUGH  SPACE  TO  MARS 

This  book  tells  how  the  journey  was  made  in  a  strange  craft  and 
what  happened  on  Mars. 

5.  LOST  ON  THE  MOON 

Strange  adventures  on  the  planet  which  is  found  to  be  a  land  of 
desolation  and  silence. 

6.  ON  A  TORN=AWAY  WORLD 

After   a    tremendous    convulsion    of    nature    the    adventurers    find 
themselves  captives  on  a  vast  "island  in  the  air." 

7.  THE  CITY  BEYOND  THE  CLOUDS 

The  City  Beyond  the  Clouds  is  a  weird  place,  full  of  surprises,  and 
the  impish  Red  Dwarfs  caused  no  end  of  trouble. 

8.  BY  AIR  EXPRESS  TO  VENUS 

Our  heroes  are  captured  by  strange  inhabitants  of  the  inside  world 
and  have  a  series  of  adventures  as  wonderful  as  they  are  absorbing. 

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MYSTERY  AND  ADVENTURE 
BOOKS  FOR  BOYS 


12mo.     Cloth.    Illustrated.    Colored 

jackets. 

Price  50  cents  per  volume. 

Postage  10  cents  additional. 

SOUTH  FROM  HUDSON  BAY* 

by  E.  C.  Brill 

A  thrilling  tale  of  the  coming  of 
settlers  from  France  and  Switzerland 
to  the  wilderness  of  the  Prairie 
country  of  the  Red  River  district, 
and  the  adventures  of  three  boys  who 
find  themselves  entangled  in  the  fate 
of  the  little  colony. 


YELLOW- SAND* 


THE  SECRET  CACHE,  by  E.  C.  Brill 

The  father  of  two  boys,  a  fur  hunter,  has  been  seriously  in- 
jured by  an  Indian.  Before  he  dies  he  succeeds  in  telling  the 
younger  son  about  a  secret  cache  of  valuable  furs.  The  directions 
are  incomplete  but  the  boys  start  off  to  find  the  Cache,  and  with 
the  help  of  men  from  a  nearby  settlement  capture  the  Indian  and 
bring  him  to  justice. 

THE  ISLAND  OF  YELLOW  SANDS,   by  E.  C.  Brill 

An  exciting  story  of  Adventure  in  Colonial  Days  in  the  primi- 
tive country  around  Lake  Superior,  when  the  forest  and  waters 
were  the  hunting  ground  of  Indians,  hunters  and  trappers. 

LOST  CITY  OF  THE  AZTECS,   by  J.  A.  Lath 

Four  chums  find  a  secret  code  stuck  inside  the  binding  of  an  old 
book  written  many  years  ago  by  a  famous  geologist.  The  boys 
finally  solve  the  code  and  learn  of  the  existence  of  the  remnant 
of  a  civilized  Aztec  tribe  inside  an  extinct  crater  in  the  southern 
part  of  Arizona.  How  they  find  these  Aztecs,  and  their  many 
stirring  adventures  makes  a  story  of  tremendous  present-day  scien- 
tific interest  that  every  boy  will  enjoy. 

These  books  may  be  purchased  wherever  books  are  sold 

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THE  BOMBA  BOOKS 

By  ROY  ROCKWOOD 

12mo.    Cloth.    Illustrated.    With  Colored 

jacket. 

Price  50  cents  per  volume.     Postage  10 

cents  additional. 

Bomba  lived  far  back  in  the  jungles  of 
the  Amazon  with  a  half-demented  natu- 
ralist who  told  the  lad  nothing  of  his  past. 
The  jungle  boy  was  a  lover  of.  birds,  and 
hunted  animals  with  a  bow  and  arrow  and 
his  trusty  machete.  He  had  only  a  primi- 
tive education,  and  his  daring  adventures 
will  be  followed  with  breathless  interest 
by  thousands. 

1.  BOMBA  THE  JUNGLE  BOY 

2.  BOMBA  THE  JUNGLE  BOY  AT  THE  MOVING 

MOUNTAIN 

3.  BOMBA  THE  JUNGLE  BOY  AT  THE  GIANT 

CATARACT 

4.  BOMBA  THE  JUNGLE  BOY  ON  JAGUAR  ISLAND 

5.  BOMBA  THE  JUNGLE  BOY  IN  THE  ABANDONED 

CITY 

6.  BOMBA  THE  JUNGLE  BOY  ON  TERROR  TRAIL 

7.  BOMBA  THE  JUNGLE  BOY  IN  THE  SWAMP  OF 

DEATH 

8.  BOMBA  THE  JUNGLE  BOY  AMONG  THE  SLAVES 
9„   BOMBA  THE  JUNGLE  BOY  ON  THE  UNDER- 
GROUND RIVER 

10.  BOMBA  THE  JUNGLE  BOY  AND  THE  LOST 

EXPLORERS 

11.  BOMBA  THE  JUNGLE  BOY  IN  A  STRANGE  LAND 

12.  BOMBA  THE  JUNGLE  BOY  AMONG  THE 

PYGMIES 

13.  BOMBA  THE  JUNGLE  BOY  AND  THE 

CANNIBALS 

14.  BOMBA  THE  JUNGLE  BOY  AND  THE  PAINTED 

HUNTERS 

15.  BOMBA    THE    JUNGLE    BOY    AND    THE    RIVER 

DEMONS 

16.  BOMBA  THE  JUNGLE  BOY  AND  THE  HOSTILE 

CHIEFTAIN 

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THE  BOB  DEXTER  SERIES 

By  WILLARD  F.  BAKER 

Author  of  "The  Boy  Ranchers  Series" 

12mo.  Cloth.  Illustrated.  Jacket  in  colors.  Price 
50  cents  per  volume.  Postage  10  cents  additional. 
This  is  a  new  line  of  stories  for  boys,  by  the 
author  of  the  Boy  Ranchers  series.  The  Bob 
Dexter  books  are  detective  stories,  yet  they  are 
without  the  objectionable  features  of  the  impos- 
sible characters  and  absurd  situations  that  mark 
so  many  of  the  books  in  that  class.  These  stories 
deal  with  the  up-to-date  adventures  of  a  normal, 
healthy  lad  who  has  a  great  desire  to  solve  mys- 
teries, and  the  volumes  relate  in  an  entertaining 
way  how  he  does  it. 

S.  BOB  DEXTER  AND  THE  CLUB- 
HOUSE  MYSTERY 

or  The  Missing  Golden  Eagle 
This  story  tells  how  the  Boys'  Athletic  Club  was  despoiled  of  its  trophies 
in  a  strange  manner,   and  how,  among  other  things   stolen,   was  the  Golden 
Eagle  mascot. 

2.  BOB  DEXTER  AND  THE  BEACON  BEACH 

MYSTERY    or  The  Wreck  of  the  Sea  Hawk 
When  Bob  and  his  chum  went  to  Beacon  Beach  for  their  vacation,  they 
were  plunged  into  a  strange  series  of  events,  not  the  least  of  which  was  the 
sinking  of  the  Sea  Hawk. 

3.  BOB  DEXTER  AND  THE  STORM  MOUNTAIN 

MYSTERY    or  The  Secret  of  the  Log  Cabin 
Bob   Dexter   came  upon   a  man  mysteriously   injured  and   befriended   him, 
which  led  Bob  into  the  midst  of  a  series  of  strange  events. 

4.  BOB  DEXTER  AND  THE  AEROPLANE  MYSTERY 

or  The  Secret  of  the  Jint  San 
Bob  and  his  chums  witness  the  mysterious  disappearance  of  an  aeroplano 
and    find    excitement    in    their    exploration    of    an    unknown    cave. 

5.  BOB  DEXTER  AND  THE  SEAPLANE  MYSTERY 

or  The  Secret  of  the  White  Stones 
Bob  Dexter,  while  on  a  vacation,  captures  a  band  of  criminals,  and  solves 
a  mystery  in  which  millions  of  dollars  in  gems  and  jewelry  had  been  stolen. 

6.  BOB  DEXTER  AND  THE  RED  AUTO  MYSTERY 

or  The  Secret  of  the  Flying  Car 
A  story  of  a  mysterious  red  auto  is  packed  with  many  hair-raising  adven* 
tures.     Bob  comes  to  the  rescue  and  captures  the  criminals. 

7.  BOB  DEXTER  AND  THE  RADIO  MYSTERY 

or  The  Secret  of  the  Counterfeiters 
When  Bob  and  his  chums  resolve  to  clear  up  a  baffling  mystery  they  do 
it   with  many   narrow   escapes. 

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v^ 


